Curiosity takes a selfie with “Mary Anning” on the red planet

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has a new selfie. The latter comes from a place called “Mary Anning”, in honor of a 19th century English paleontologist whose discovery of marine reptile fossils has been ignored for generations due to his gender and class. The rover has been on site since last July, taking and analyzing drilling samples.

Consisting of 59 images joined by imaging specialists, the selfie was taken on October 25, 2020, the 2922th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s mission.

Scientists on the Curiosity team found it appropriate to name the sampling site after Anning due to the area’s potential to reveal details about the ancient environment. Curiosity used the rock drill at the end of the robotic arm to take samples from three holes called “Mary Anning”, “Mary Anning 3” and “Groken”, the latter named after the cliffs in the Scottish Shetland Islands. The robotic scientist conducted a series of advanced experiments with those samples to extend the search for organic (or carbon-based) molecules in ancient rocks.

Since landing in Gale Crater in 2012, Curiosity has been climbing Mount Sharp in search of conditions that could once have sustained life. Last year, the rover explored a region of Mount Sharp called Glen Torridon, which likely contained lakes and streams billions of years ago. Scientists suspect that this is why a high concentration of clay minerals and organic molecules was discovered.

The team will take months to interpret the chemistry and minerals in the samples from the Mary Anning site. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers who commanded the rover from their homes as a safety precaution during the coronavirus pandemic have ordered Curiosity to continue its climb to Mount Sharp. The rover’s next target of exploration is a sulfate-laden rock layer higher up the mountain. The team hopes to reach it in early 2021.