Mount Sharp

The mountain appears to be an enormous mound of eroded sedimentary layers sitting on the central peak of Gale. It rises {{convert|5.5|km|ft|abbr=on}} above the northern crater floor and {{convert|4.5|km|ft|abbr=on}} above the southern crater floor, higher than the southern crater rim. The sediments may have been laid down over an interval of 2 billion years,

{{cite web

| url = http://themis.asu.edu/features/galecrater

| title = Gale Crater's History Book

| work = Arizona State University

| access-date = December 7, 2012}} and may have once completely filled the crater. Some of the lower sediment layers may have originally been deposited on a lake bed, while observations of possibly cross-bedded strata in the upper mound suggest aeolian processes.

{{cite journal

|last1=Anderson |first1=R. B.

|last2=Bell III |first2=J. F.

|year=2010

|title=Geologic mapping and characterization of Gale Crater and implications for its potential as a Mars Science Laboratory landing site

|journal=International Journal of Mars Science and Exploration

|volume=5 |pages=76–128

|bibcode=2010IJMSE...5...76A

|doi=10.1555/mars.2010.0004

}} However, this issue is debated,

{{cite journal

|last = Cabrol

|first = N. A.

|year = 1999

|title = Hydrogeologic evolution of Gale Crater and its relevance in the exobiological exploration of Mars

|url = http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/conferences/lplc/2008/abstracts/60_sdarticle%282%29.pdf

|journal = Icarus

|volume = 139

|issue = 2

|pages = 235–245

|bibcode = 1999Icar..139..235C

|doi = 10.1006/icar.1999.6099

|display-authors = etal

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029213332/http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/conferences/lplc/2008/abstracts/60_sdarticle%282%29.pdf

|archive-date = October 29, 2013

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite journal

|last1=Irwin

|first1=R. P.

|last2=Howard

|first2=A. D.

|last3=Craddock

|first3=R. A.

|last4=Moore

|first4=J. M.

|year=2005

|title=An intense terminal epoch of widespread fluvial activity on early Mars: 2. Increased runoff and paleolake development

|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research

|volume=110

|issue=E12

|pages=E12S15

|bibcode=2005JGRE..11012S15I

|doi=10.1029/2005JE002460

|doi-access=free

}} and the origin of the lower layers remains unclear. If katabatic wind deposition played the predominant role in the emplacement of the sediments, as suggested by reported 3 degree radial slopes of the mound's layers, erosion would have come into play largely to place an upper limit on the mound's growth.{{cite web

| last = Wall | first = M.

| title = Bizarre Mars Mountain Possibly Built by Wind, Not Water

| publisher = Space.com | date = May 6, 2013

| url = http://www.space.com/20986-mars-mountain-water-formation.html

| access-date = May 13, 2013 }}{{cite journal|last1=Kite|first1=E. S.|last2=Lewis|first2=K. W.|last3=Lamb|first3=M. P.|last4=Newman|first4=C. E.|last5=Richardson|first5=M. I.|title=Growth and form of the mound in Gale Crater, Mars: Slope wind enhanced erosion and transport|journal=Geology|volume= 41|issue=5|year= 2013|pages=543–546|issn= 0091-7613|doi= 10.1130/G33909.1|arxiv=1205.6840|bibcode=2013Geo....41..543K|s2cid=119249853}}

On December 8, 2014, a panel of NASA scientists discussed ([http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/56255521 archive 62:03)] the latest observations of Curiosity about how water may have helped shape the landscape of Mars, including Aeolis Mons, and had a climate long ago that could have produced long-lasting lakes at many Martian locations.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Webster |first2=Guy |title=Release 14-326 – NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Clues to How Water Helped Shape Martian Landscape |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-s-curiosity-rover-finds-clues-to-how-water-helped-shape-martian-landscape/ |date=December 8, 2014 |work=NASA |access-date=December 8, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Kaufmann |first=Marc |title=(Stronger) Signs of Life on Mars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/science/-stronger-signs-of-life-on-mars.html |date=December 8, 2014 |work=New York Times |access-date=December 8, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Curiosity Rover's Quest for Clues on Mars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/science/curiosity-rovers-quest-for-clues-on-mars.html |date=December 8, 2014 |work=New York Times |access-date=December 9, 2014 }}

On October 8, 2015, NASA confirmed that lakes and streams existed in Gale crater 3.3 - 3.8 billion years ago delivering sediments to build up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.{{cite web |last=Clavin |first=Whitney |title=NASA's Curiosity Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4734 |date=October 8, 2015 |work=NASA |access-date=October 9, 2015 }}{{cite journal |author=Grotzinger, J.P. |title=Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars |date=October 9, 2015 |journal=Science |volume=350 |number=6257 |doi=10.1126/science.aac7575 |display-authors=etal |pages=aac7575 |pmid=26450214|bibcode=2015Sci...350.7575G |s2cid=586848 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20151009-084255932 }}

On February 1, 2019, NASA scientists reported that Curiosity had determined, for the first time, the density of Mount Sharp in Gale crater, thereby establishing a clearer understanding of how the mountain was formed.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=How NASA's Curiosity Rover Weighed a Mountain on Mars - With a bit of technical improvisation, scientists worked out that the bedrock of Mount Sharp appeared to be less dense than had been expected. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/science/mars-curiosity-rover-mount-sharp.html |date=January 31, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 1, 2019 }}{{cite journal |author=Lewis, Kevin W. |title=A surface gravity traverse on Mars indicates low bedrock density at Gale crater |date=February 1, 2019 |journal=Science |volume=363 |issue=6426 |pages=535–537 |doi=10.1126/science.aat0738 |pmid=30705193 |bibcode=2019Sci...363..535L |s2cid=59567599 |doi-access=free }}

File:Apollo 15 Rover, Irwin.jpg, on the Moon, is {{convert|4.5|km|ft|abbr=on}} high. Here it is being visited by the Apollo 15 lunar rover.{{cite book | author=Fred W. Price | title=The Moon observer's handbook | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=London | year=1988 | isbn= 978-0-521-33500-3}}]]

class="sortable wikitable" align="right" style=font-size:11px ! Mountain ! km high
style="background:#CCCCFF;" | Aeolis	5.5
Huygens	5.5
Denali	5.5 (btp)
Blanc	4.8 (asl)
Uhuru	4.6 (btp)
Fuji	3.8 (asl)
Zugspitze	3

Aeolis Mons is {{convert|5.5|km|ft|abbr=on}} high, about the same height as Mons Huygens, the tallest lunar mountain, and taller than Mons Hadley visited by Apollo 15. The tallest mountain known in the Solar System is in Rheasilvia crater on the asteroid Vesta, which contains a central mound that rises {{convert|22|km|mi ft|abbr=on}} high; Olympus Mons on Mars is nearly the same height, at {{convert|21.9|km|mi ft|abbr=on}} high.

In comparison, Mount Everest rises to {{convert|8.8|km|ft|abbr=on}} altitude above sea level (asl), but is only Mount Everest#Comparisons (base-to-peak) (btp).Mount Everest (1:50,000 scale map), prepared under the direction of Bradford Washburn for the Boston Museum of Science, the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, and the National Geographic Society, 1991, {{ISBN|3-85515-105-9}} Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro is about {{convert|5.9|km|ft|abbr=on}} altitude above sea level to the Uhuru peak;{{cite web|url=http://www.mountkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-height.html|title=Kilimajaro Guide—Kilimanjaro 2010 Precise Height Measurement Expedition| access-date=May 16, 2009}} also 4.6 km base-to-peak.{{Cite web |url=http://climbing.about.com/od/mountainclimbing/a/KilimanjaroFact.htm |title=S. Green – Kilimanjaro: Highest Mountain in Africa – About.com |access-date=August 12, 2012 |archive-date=November 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109140427/http://climbing.about.com/od/mountainclimbing/a/KilimanjaroFact.htm }} America's Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, has a base-to-peak of {{convert|5.5|km|ft|abbr=on}}.Adam Helman, 2005. The Finest Peaks : Prominence and Other Mountain Measures, p. 9: "the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some 18000 feet"

The Franco-Italian Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco is {{convert|4.8|km|ft|abbr=on}} in altitude above sea level,[http://www.summitpost.org/zugspitze/150322 Sumitpostorg – Zugspitze]{{cite news|title=Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years|url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/mont-blanc-shrinks-by-45cm-in-two-years-20091106-i0kk.html|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=November 6, 2009}} Mount Fuji, which overlooks Tokyo, Japan, is about {{convert|3.8|km|ft|abbr=on}} altitude. Compared to the Andes, Aeolis Mons would rank outside the hundred tallest peaks, being roughly the same height as Argentina's Cerro Pajonal; the peak is higher than any above sea level in Oceania, but base-to peak it is considerably shorter than Hawaii's Mauna Kea and its neighbors.

Discovered in the 1970s,{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} the mountain remained unnamed for several decades. When Gale crater became a candidate landing site, the mountain was given various labels e.g. in 2010 a NASA photo caption called it "Gale crater mound".[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/pia12508.html NASA – Layers in Lower Formation of Gale Crater Mound] In March 2012, NASA unofficially named it "Mount Sharp", after American geologist Robert P. Sharp.{{cite news|url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Mount-Sharp-or-Aeolis-Mons-166210446.html |title=Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons? |work=Sky & Telescope |date=August 14, 2012 |access-date=August 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328110501/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/Mount-Sharp-or-Aeolis-Mons-166210446.html |archive-date=March 28, 2013 }}

File:PIA15292-Fig2-MarsMountSharp-HeightComparison.jpg

Since 1919 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has been the official body responsible for planetary nomenclature. Under its long-established rules for naming features on Mars, mountains are named after the classical albedo feature in which they are located, not after people. In May 2012 the IAU officially named the mountain Aeolis Mons after the Aeolis albedo feature.{{cite web|title=Planetary Names: Mons, montes: Aeolis Mons on Mars |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15000 |website=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |publisher=International Astronomical Union |access-date=May 30, 2018 |quote=Approval Date: May 16, 2012. Origin: Classical albedo feature name}} It also gave the name Aeolis Palus to the plain located on the crater floor between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of the mountain.{{cite web|date=March 27, 2012 |title="Mount Sharp" on Mars Compared to Three Big Mountains on Earth |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15292-Fig2.html |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 31, 2012}}{{cite web|author=Space.com staff |date=March 29, 2012 |title=NASA's New Mars Rover Will Explore Towering "Mount Sharp" |url=http://www.space.com/15097-mars-mountain-sharp-curiosity-rover.html |publisher=Space.com |access-date=March 30, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Blue |first=J. |date=May 16, 2012 |title=Three New Names Approved for Features on Mars |url=https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?/archives/447-Three-New-Names-Approved-for-Features-on-Mars.html |publisher=US Geological Survey |access-date=May 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728141903/http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?%2Farchives%2F447-Three-New-Names-Approved-for-Features-on-Mars.html |archive-date=July 28, 2012 }}

{{cite web|last=Agle |first=D. C. |date=March 28, 2012

|title='Mount Sharp' On Mars Links Geology's Past and Future

|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120328.html |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 31, 2012}} The IAU's choice of name is supported by the United States Geological Survey. Martian craters are named after deceased scientists, so in recognition of NASA and Sharp, at the same time the IAU named "Robert Sharp", a large crater ({{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} diameter) located about {{convert|260|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of Gale.{{cite web |title=Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Robert Sharp on Mars |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15002 |website=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |publisher=International Astronomical Union |access-date=May 30, 2018 |quote=Approval Date: May 16, 2012. Origin: Robert Phillip; American geologist (1911-2004)}}

NASA and the European Space Agency[http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMEV8TX55H_index_0.html ESA – Mars Express marks the spot for Curiosity landing] continue to refer to the mountain as "Mount Sharp" in press conferences and press releases. This is similar to their use of other informal names, such as the Columbia Hills near one of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites.

In August 2012, the magazine Sky & Telescope ran an article explaining the rationale of the two names and held an informal poll to determine which one was preferred by their readers. Over 2700 people voted, with Aeolis Mons winning by 57% to Mount Sharp's 43%.

{{main|Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory}}

{{wide image|PIA18782-MarsCuriosityRover-GeologyMap-LowerMountSharp-20140911.png|800px|align-cap=center|Geology map – from the crater floor in Aeolis Palus up the slopes of Aeolis Mons
(September 11, 2014).}}

{{wide image|PIA19840-MarsCuriosityRover-HiddenValley-Sol703-Rel20151008.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Rocks in "Hidden Valley" near the "Pahrump Hills" on the slopes of Aeolis Mons as viewed from Curiosity
(September 11, 2014; white balanced).}}

On December 16, 2014, NASA reported detecting, based on measurements by the Curiosity rover, an unusual increase, then decrease, in the amounts of methane in the atmosphere of the planet Mars; as well as, detecting Martian organic chemicals in powder drilled from a rock by the rover. Also, based on deuterium to hydrogen ratio studies, much of the water at Gale Crater on Mars was found to have been lost during ancient times, before the lakebed in the crater was formed; afterwards, large amounts of water continued to be lost.{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Neal-Jones |first2=Nancy |last3=Brown |first3=Dwayne |title=NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-432 |date=December 16, 2014 |work=NASA |access-date=December 16, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title='A Great Moment': Rover Finds Clue That Mars May Harbor Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/science/a-new-clue-in-the-search-for-life-on-mars.html |date=December 16, 2014 |work=New York Times |access-date=December 16, 2014 }}{{cite journal |author=Mahaffy, P.R. |display-authors=etal |title=Mars Atmosphere – The imprint of atmospheric evolution in the D/H of Hesperian clay minerals on Mars |date=December 16, 2014 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.1260291 |bibcode=2015Sci...347..412M |volume=347 |issue=6220 |pages=412–414 |pmid=25515119|s2cid=37075396 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20141210-083740627 }}

On June 1, 2017, NASA reported that the Curiosity rover provided evidence of an ancient lake in Gale crater on Mars that could have been favorable for microbial life; the ancient lake was stratified, with shallows rich in oxidants and depths poor in oxidants; and, the ancient lake provided many different types of microbe-friendly environments at the same time. NASA further reported that the Curiosity rover will continue to explore higher and younger layers of Mount Sharp in order to determine how the lake environment in ancient times on Mars became the drier environment in more modern times.{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Mullane |first2=Laura |last3=Cantillo |first3=Laurie |last4=Brown |first4=Dwayne |title=High-Silica 'Halos' Shed Light on Wet Ancient Mars |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6859 |date=May 31, 2017 |work=NASA |access-date=June 1, 2017 }}{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Filiano |first2=Gregory |last3=Perkins |first3=Robert|last4=Cantillo |first4=Laurie |last5=Brown |first5=Dwayne |title=Curiosity Peels Back Layers on Ancient Martian Lake |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6863 |date=June 1, 2017 |work=NASA |access-date=June 1, 2017 }}{{cite journal |author=Hurowitz, J.A.|display-authors=etal|title=Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars |date=June 2, 2017 |journal=Science |volume=356 |issue=6341 |pages=eaah6849 |doi=10.1126/science.aah6849 |pmid=28572336 |bibcode=2017Sci...356.6849H |doi-access=free |hdl=10044/1/53715 |hdl-access=free }}

On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars.{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Cantillo |first2=Laurie |last3=Brown |first3=Dwayne |title=Five Years Ago and 154 Million Miles Away: Touchdown! |url=https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/news/2017/five-years-ago-and-154-million-miles-away-touchdown |date=August 2, 2017 |work=NASA |access-date=August 8, 2017 }}{{cite web |last=Wall |first=Mike |title=After 5 Years on Mars, NASA's Curiosity Rover Is Still Making Big Discoveries |url=https://www.space.com/37722-mars-rover-curiosity-five-years-anniversary.html |date=August 5, 2017 |work=Space.com |access-date=August 8, 2017 }} (Videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxvODcuFb1s Curiosity{{'s}} First Five Years (02:07)]; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0nPFaBU98k Curiosity{{'s}} POV: Five Years Driving (05:49)]; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uAz82sH-E Curiosity{{'s}} Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54)])

On April 11, 2019, NASA announced that Curiosity had drilled into, and closely studied, a "clay-bearing unit" which, according to the rover Project Manager, is a "major milestone" in Curiosity{{'s}} journey up Mount Sharp.{{cite news |last=Good |first=Andrew |title=Curiosity Tastes First Sample in 'Clay-Bearing Unit' |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7376 |date=April 11, 2019 |work=NASA |access-date=April 12, 2019 }}

File:PIA23179-MarsCuriosityRoverExploersMountSharp-20190515.jpg

In January 2023, Curiosity viewed and studied the "Cacao" meteorite.

File:PIA25737-MarsCuriosityRover-CacaoMeteorite-20230128.jpg

In August 2023, Curiosity explored the upper Gediz Vallis Ridge.{{Cite web |author=Deborah Padgett |title=Sols 3923-3925: Approaching the Ridgetop – "Bermuda Triangle" Ahead! |url=https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/9465/sols-3923-3925-approaching-the-ridgetop-bermuda-triangle-ahead |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=NASA Mars Exploration |language=en}}{{Cite web |author=Emma Harris |title=Sols 3930-3931: Wrapping up at the Ridge |url=https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/9470/sols-3930-3931-wrapping-up-at-the-ridge |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=NASA Mars Exploration |language=en}} A panoramic view of the ridge is here, and a 3D rendered view is here.

File:PIA26042-MarsCuriosityRover-PathToGedizVallisRidge-Animation-Aug2023.gif and beyond (August 2023)