NASA’s Curiosity Rover Spots Odd ‘Footprints’ on Mount Sharp as Scientists Puzzle Over New Geological Mystery
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15.09.2026 18:38
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2 min read
NASA’s Curiosity rover has spotted unusual flat pits on the slopes of Mount Sharp that look like miniature footprints. There is, of course, no question of organic traces: what caught scientists’ attention is the rock’s unusual geology, which does not fit the familiar processes of Martian weathering.
Centimeter-Scale Pits and a MAHLI Microscope Image
The rover captured the microrelief image on sol 4989 of the mission using the MAHLI microscope camera mounted on the craft’s robotic arm. The pit in the frame measures about one centimeter across.
Small cavities in Martian sandstone usually form when hard mineral nodules or pebbles fall out, then are gradually washed away by wind, leaving round, deep marks. The new structure, however, has puzzled geologists. As Michelle Minitti, deputy principal investigator for the MAHLI instrument, explained in a report on the NASA Science website, the pits turned out to be noticeably wider and shallower than standard cavities, and there were no signs of fallen stones nearby.
ChemCam Spectrometers and 14 Years on Mars
To determine the origin of the anomaly, the science team used the rover’s onboard suite of instruments:
- The Mastcam and MAHLI cameras took a series of overlapping stereo images to calculate a digital 3D model of the terrain;
- The ChemCam laser spectrometer and the APXS X-ray spectrometer remotely vaporized microscopic patches of rock to determine the elemental composition.
The analysis revealed a layered structure with thin gray bands whose chemical composition differs from the rest of the slab. This points to frequent changes in the composition of groundwater during the formation of sediments on the floor of an ancient lake.
According to Space.com, NASA has yet to reach a final verdict on the origin of the pits. Researchers still need to determine whether this is a rare form of chemical erosion or a unique microstructure of mineral deposits.
A veteran of Martian exploration, Curiosity has been working in Gale Crater for more than 14 years. The craft recently passed the mark of 1 kilometer of elevation gain above its landing site and continues climbing the slopes of Mount Sharp in search of evidence that the Red Planet was habitable in the distant past.
