Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have produced 360-degree panoramas highlighting two distinct regions on Mars, separated by about 2,345 miles (3,775 kilometers). Curiosity operates in the foothills of Mount Sharp within Gale Crater, while Perseverance explores the terrain around Jezero Crater, venturing into some of the solar system's oldest landscapes. Their different locations allow NASA to study separate chapters of Mars’ geological and environmental history simultaneously.
Curiosity’s panorama, composed of 1,031 images taken from November to December 2025, reveals an area with boxwork formations. These low ridges, resembling giant spiderwebs in orbital images, were shaped by groundwater flowing through fractures in the bedrock and depositing minerals that hardened, creating erosion-resistant features.
Perseverance's panorama, made from 980 images captured between December 2025 and January 2026, focuses on “Lac de Charmes,” just outside Jezero Crater’s rim. This view features the crater rim and ancient rock formations, offering insights into one of Mars’ oldest preserved environments.
Both sites are now cold deserts, but evidence suggests that ancient Mars may have supported life. Curiosity’s mission detected chemistry and nutrients consistent with ancient lakebeds soon after landing in 2012. As Curiosity climbs Mount Sharp, which rises 3 miles (5 kilometers), it passes through sedimentary layers from older lake deposits at the base to younger, drier sediments higher up, moving through Mars’ geological timeline.