NASA video shows how much ground a Mars rover has covered, literally

When NASA makes a new timelapse video, it's not for reminiscence or clout chasing on the Internet.

The U.S. space agency recently pulled together images from Curiosity, one of its two robotic rovers on Mars, for a scientific purpose. The two-minute video provides a quick succession of clips spanning six years of exploration at Gale Crater. Each image shows the rover ambling over crumbling lithic landscapes as it slowly climbs Mount Sharp, which rises three miles above the basin floor. 

The montage isn't just an intriguing look back on the mission, but a tool for the rover's science team. Using views from Curiosity's right navigation camera, mounted on its head, the researchers analyze the sand grains shifting on the rover's deck. 

You can watch the Martian dust churn in the rover's treads in the Instagram post below. (The Lenny Kravitz soundtrack, though not for science, certainly adds to the appeal.) 

"Distinguishing between sand jostled by each drive and wind gusts can provide new information about seasonal changes in the atmosphere," the agency said. 

Curiosity took these images between Jan. 2, 2020, and March 8, but the rover's journey began long before that. After eight months and 352 million miles flying through space, the rover landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012. Its mission: Find out if this smaller neighboring world ever had conditions to support living creatures. 

NASA's question was answered rather quickly. Within a year, the rover had drilled a rock sample from a long-gone lakebed and confirmed the region had the right chemistry for habitation in its ancient past, as well as potential nutrients for microorganisms. 

Since then, the rover has continued to study the alien environment using its internal chemistry lab. A recently published study revealed the rover detected 21 different organic molecules in a small rock sample, the largest set found on the Red Planet so far. Among the findings, Curiosity discovered preserved complex carbon material. Life could have produced them, though NASA can't say for sure, as chemical reactions between water and rock could also create these molecules. 

As scientists monitor the shifting sand for clues about Mars' seasonal changes, engineers keep a close eye on how that dust and debris put wear and tear on the vehicle. Almost since the beginning of the journey, the team has noticed sharp rocks in the terrain ravaging Curiosity's wheels, even causing punctures. 

Before the rover's sibling launched, NASA went back to the drawing board. Engineers built Perseverance with hardier wheels made from thicker aluminum. Each wheel is powered by its own motor and can turn in a full circle, allowing it to dodge and swerve around hazards more easily. 

But to help the elder rover, NASA has problem-solved alternative techniques, such as driving in reverse. Software engineers also provided upgrades that gave Curiosity's team more control over individual wheel speeds to reduce the force of jagged rocky surfaces. Those efforts have kept the rover trucking, which has traveled 23 miles on Mars. 

Wheel damage isn't the only concern in the harsh conditions on Mars. Many a mission has succumbed to the effects of blustery Martian winds, which kick up dust that then settles on solar panels.

Such was the fate of Curiosity and Perseverance's predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, who died from dust choking their vital power sources.