LCLU Annual Talk

The Early Aqueous Environment of Mars Inferred From Mission Lifetime Results by the Curiosity Rover at Gale Crater

Wednesday, 29 April 2026,  5:30-6:30pm

John P. Grotzinger
Harold Brown Professor of Geology
California Institute of Technology, Division of geological and Planetary Sciences

NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, with its Curiosity rover, is in its fourteenth year assessing the habitability of its field area in Gale crater. As of December 2025, Curiosity has examined ~900 meters of stratigraphy on Aeolis Palus and Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp) along a 36-km traverse. Mission results indicate that habitable conditions (persistent liquid water, key chemical elements required for life, and sources of energy) were present in multiple environments likely spanning at least millions of years in the early Hesperian, and potentially much longer in the subsurface.  Significant mission lifetime and most recent results will both be highlighted.

Location
Main Lecture Theatre
Department of Zoology, New Museums Site, Downing Street
Cambridge
CB2 3EJ
To see map

For any enquiries, please contact: admin@lclu.cam.ac.uk