Click for full resolution image.

Cool image time! The picture to the right, reduced to post here, was taken on August 9, 2026 by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the rover Curiosity.

This camera, designed to take close-ups like this of objects on the ground, is located at the end of Curiosity’s robot arm. According to the science team, when this picture was taken, the camera was approximately eight inches away, making these flakes only inches across and one to three inches long.

Such delicate features are impossible on the surface of the Earth, because rain and wind will destroy them. We do find them inside caves, where the environment is more benign, but even there such things are rare and when found are considered special and unique.

Click for interactive map.

On Mars however Curiosity has found such flakes often on the surface as the rover has traveled more than 23 miles since its landing in 2012, though the frequency of such features has increased markedly since the rover entered the foothills of Mount Sharp and began climbing the mountain. I have highlighted such things in 2015 and 2016 on the crater floor, then four times in 2022 (here, here, here, here), twice in 2023 (here and here), and twice more in 2024 (here and here) as Curiosity moved uphill into those foothills. It has continued to see such things in the past two years, but they have become so frequent I stopped highlighting them.

The blue dot on the overview map to the right marks Curiosity’s present position, climbing slowly up the canyon the science team has labeled Valle Grande. The red dotted line indicates roughly the planned route, the white dotted line where the rover has actually traveled.

Where Curiosity will go once it reaches the end of that red dotted line remains unknown. The rover’s science team has not yet posted any planned route, which either means they haven’t made a choice or they haven’t yet decided to reveal it publicly. The question I suspect they are wrestling with is what canyon to take as they enter those light colored hills. Whatever choice they make must provide a route uphill because the time commitment will be large. They have likely been studying them closely in order to pick the easiest route, and have not yet made a decision.