NASA photo of Mars dawn reveals cliffs in unprecedented detail


Eric Lagatta,

 USA TODAY
Thu, October 8, 2026

If you thought sunrises on Earth were beautiful, wait until you see one on our planetary neighbor.

One of NASA's rovers recently captured a stunning sight of dawn on Mars with illuminated cliffs in the distance. The U.S. space agency has a fleet of spacecraft both on the ground and orbiting the red planet that have returned plenty of striking imagery.

But the new photo, courtesy of the iconic Curiosity rover, has now become the most detailed image of the Martian wind-carved cliffs ever captured, according to NASA.



Images from Mars spacecraft show red planet in stunning detail

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie on March 11, 2026, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater. The photo was assembled from 61 individual images.

Perseverance, along with Curiosity, is one of two NASA rovers that have spent years exploring Mars' surface to uncover secrets about Earth's planetary neighbor and find evidence that Mars once harbored life.More

Here's a look at the Curiosity rover's photo of a dawn on Mars.

NASA rover captures stunning photo of Mars dawn

The captivating shapes of wind-carved crags called yardangs are revealed in this zoomed-in crop of a broader panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover on Aug. 11, 2026. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed.More

NASA's Curiosity rover used its Mastcam instrument to snap six photos Aug. 11 of Martian cliffs. Once beamed back to Earth, those images were stitched together into a panorama that NASA released Oct. 6.



"Unlike most of Curiosity's Mastcam images, this one was processed without white balancing, preserving the early morning appearance," NASA said in a statement.

The striking view of the distant cliffs as bright morning light illuminates its crags showcases in unprecedented detail features that mission scientists have waited years to see so close, the U.S. space agency added.

Photo unveils more features of Mount Sharp

The wind-carved rocket ridges seen on the horizon are features known as yardangs. In this case, the yardang layer extends about 10 miles across the northwestern reaches of Mount Sharp, according to NASA.

Curiosity, which has spent more than a decade climbing the 3-mile tall mountain, at the end of August reached a milestone of about 1 kilometer in elevation, NASA said – the highest any rover has ever reached on Mars.

As the rover draws closer to the yardangs, NASA said it expects to receive more stunning images from Curisosity that could help scientists determine how the cliffs were formed.
What is NASA's Curiosity rover?

NASA has two car-sized robots – Perseverance and Curiosity – that have spent years exploring the Martian surface for signs that the planet was once habitable.

While Perseverance hums along at a feature known as the Jezero crater, the Curiosity rover has been exploring about 2,300 miles East.

The Curiosity rover began its voyage to Mars in November 2011, landing in August 2012 in the Gale Crater on the boundary between Mars' cratered southern highlands and its smooth northern plains. While exploring the crater, believed to have formed 3.7 billion years ago, Curiosity has collected 42 powderized rock samples with the drill on the end of its robotic arm.

As the iconic rover climbs 3-mile-high Mount Sharp, it is searching for evidence that Mars was once hospitable to life. To that end, the rover has been behind a slew of recent discoveries, including observations of never-before-seen organic compounds.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com