Curiosity climbs into a new Martian canyon

Click image for full resolution panorama. Click here, here, and here for original images.
Cool image time! The Curiosity science team has finally completed the rover’s climb up one canyon on the flanks of Mount Sharp and crossed over into a second, switch-backing up through a gap they have dubbed Devil’s Gate.
The panorama above, created from three pictures taken by Curiosity’s left navigation camera on April 9, 2025 (here, here, and here) looks south from that gap. On the horizon about 20-30 miles away can be seen the rim of Gale Crater. From this position the floor of the crater is almost out of side, blocked by the foothills on the lower flanks of Mount Sharp.
Though the ground in this new canyon (on the left of the panorama) continues to be amazingly rocky and boulder strewn, it is actually more benign that the canyon Curiosity has been climbing for the past six weeks.
The blue dot on the overview map to the right marks Curiosity’s present position, with the yellow lines indicating the approximate direction of the panorama. The rover’s next major geological goal is the boxwork to the southwest. In order to get to it quickly the science team decided to abandon its original planned route, indicated by the dotted red line, and climb upward through these canyons.
Click image for full resolution panorama. Click here, here, and here for original images.
Cool image time! The Curiosity science team has finally completed the rover’s climb up one canyon on the flanks of Mount Sharp and crossed over into a second, switch-backing up through a gap they have dubbed Devil’s Gate.
The panorama above, created from three pictures taken by Curiosity’s left navigation camera on April 9, 2025 (here, here, and here) looks south from that gap. On the horizon about 20-30 miles away can be seen the rim of Gale Crater. From this position the floor of the crater is almost out of side, blocked by the foothills on the lower flanks of Mount Sharp.
Though the ground in this new canyon (on the left of the panorama) continues to be amazingly rocky and boulder strewn, it is actually more benign that the canyon Curiosity has been climbing for the past six weeks.
The blue dot on the overview map to the right marks Curiosity’s present position, with the yellow lines indicating the approximate direction of the panorama. The rover’s next major geological goal is the boxwork to the southwest. In order to get to it quickly the science team decided to abandon its original planned route, indicated by the dotted red line, and climb upward through these canyons.