NASA’s Curiosity rover has recently begun a new chapter in its journey on Mars after entering the “Uyuni” quadrangle, a 1.5 km by 1.5 km map grid with a name after the Bolivian town near the world’s largest salt flats. The transition follows after the rover carried out an approximately 48-metre drive from the Altadena drill site. With new geology to explore and an expanded set of experiments, Curiosity’s journey through this region has the potential to return fresh observations into Mars’ ancient environmental conditions.

Curiosity Explores Mars’ Uyuni Quad, Begins New Study of Rock Layers, Craters, and Ancient Climates

As per a mission update from Lauren Edgar, planetary geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Centre, the transition to the Uyuni quad is significant. Each Mars quadrangle is named after an Earth location with under 100,000 people and draws on regional geology for target naming. Uyuni and nearby Atacama sites—known for Mars analogue research and extreme environments—will now lend their names to the features explored in this phase. The current sol plan involves a blend of contact science, visual imaging, and movement, all tailored to understand the bedrock composition and surface processes in this drier region of Mount Sharp.

The rover’s robotic arm will deploy its APXS and MAHLI tools to study a nodular bedrock target dubbed “Flamingo”. Remote sensing includes Mastcam mosaics of “Los Patos”, a possible impact crater, and “La Lava”, a dark rock. These images will document sediment transport features and inform ChemCam’s upcoming LIBS firing at a bedrock spot named “Tacos”. A long-distance RMI mosaic of “Mishe Mokwa” butte will further analyse sediment layers.

Following the science block, Curiosity will travel approximately 56 metres southwest and collect post-drive imagery to inform the next sol plan. The next day will be dedicated to calibration and environmental monitoring activities via Mastcam and Navcam, particularly focused on dust and cloud movement in the Martian atmosphere.

Researchers are eager to study what these formations can reveal of past Martian climates as the team works toward larger boxwork exposures. The Uyuni quad will bring together distant worlds through a common geological story using names and formations based on our own geologic brethren on Earth.