NASA’s Curiosity rover acquired an image showing characteristic high-altitude clouds in the sky above Gale Crater near sunset on October 7, 2026, corresponding to sol 5037 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
This period marks the beginning of Martian year 39, which starts at the time of the northern hemisphere spring equinox on Mars, around late September on Earth. Consequently, the season is now autumn in Gale Crater, located just south of the Martian equator.
The rover recently completed a drilling campaign in the area named “Basque Lakes” and is preparing to move toward the “Chiu Chiu” region, where crystalline formations have been observed. Meanwhile, atmospheric conditions are evolving with the season, notably with the return of high-altitude twilight clouds illuminated by the low angle of the setting sun.
Scientific teams also conducted an additional gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GCMS) experiment to analyze collected samples, despite the high energy consumption of this operation. Furthermore, various remote sensing and contact analysis activities were carried out to study the drilling residues.