March 01 , 2022
Smaller than a penny , the flower-like rock artifact on the left was imaged by NASA ’ s Curiosity Mars rover using its Mars Hand Lens Imager ( MAHLI ) camera on the end of its robotic arm . The image was taken on Feb . 24 , 2022 , the 3,396th Martian day , or sol , of the mission . The “ flower ,” along with the spherical rock artifacts seen to the right , were made in the ancient past when minerals carried by water cemented the rock .
Curiosity has in the past discovered a diverse assortment of similar small features that formed when mineralizing fluids traveled through conduits in the rock . Images of such features are helping scientists understand more about the prolonged history of liquid water in Gale Crater .
Curiosity was built by NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California . Caltech in Pasadena , California , manages JPL for NASA . JPL manages Curiosity ’ s mission for NASA ’ s Science Mission Directorate in Washington . MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego . For more about Curiosity , visit https :// mars . nasa . gov / msl / home / or https :// www . nasa . gov / mission _ pages / msl / index . html .
Credit : NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
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