Alexander Lewis 
Dec 30, 2023
In November, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity encountered a period of downtime. However, rather than idling, the rover took advantage of this break to capture remarkable footage from dawn to dusk on our neighbouring planet.
On the 4,002nd Martian day, known as Sol, of its mission, Curiosity recorded two captivating black-and-white videos on November 8. This temporary halt in Curiosity's activities occurred due to Mars orbiting on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, a phase referred to as Mars' solar conjunction.
During these intervals, communication with the Red Planet's robots is paused as solar plasma interference can disrupt commands, although routine health checks are still transmitted back to Earth.
For a duration of two weeks, from November 11 to 25, the Mars fleet remained out of contact, with Curiosity receiving the final instruction to initiate filming using its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (HazCams) during this period. While these cameras typically survey potential risks for the rover's movements, they were repurposed to capture the Martian surroundings while the rover was stationary.
The footage encompasses a 12-hour sequence collected over a Martian day lasting 24 hours, 37 minutes, and 22 seconds, from 5:30am to 5:30pm local time. Within this timeframe, Curiosity's shadow drifts over the Martian terrain, essentially functioning as a basic sundial.
Though the Curiosity team anticipated observing Martian clouds or dust devils in the 25-frame videos, notable weather phenomena were absent. Nevertheless, the footage showcases a valley etched into Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a 3-mile-high mountain within the Gale Crater where Curiosity has been exploring since its 2012 landing, maintaining its operational efficiency throughout the mission.
