News > Curiosity rover ventures into area full of clay, salty minerals; begins ninth year on Mars

Curiosity rover ventures into area full of clay, salty minerals; begins ninth year on Mars

The Curiosity rover, which has been trundling on the surface of Mars for eight years, entered its ninth year of the mission by venturing into an unexplored part of Mars. Curiosity is now somewhere between a region enriched with clay minerals and one dominated by salty minerals called sulfates.

The new location being scoured by the rover holds significance as researchers had recently concluded that mysterious radar signals that suggested the presence of water in these lakes.