Curiosity Rover Discovers Anomaly; Broadcasts First Human Voice On Mars

The Curiosity mars rover has found a geological "unconformity" on Mount Sharp, its destination.

An unconformity is a gap in geological record where layers of sediment do not neatly line up. The Curiosity rover sent the image from its 100mm telephoto lens.

Additional photos taken from orbit show that the lower foothills of Mount Sharp are made of flat-lying sediments rich in hydrated minerals, which indicate the presence of water, reported BBC News. However, the layers above these foothills did not appear to hold these minerals. Mount Sharp is located in the center of Gale Crater and has a 5km-high peak.

In other developments, NASA made history on Monday when they broadcast the first human voice recording to be sent from another planet. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden sent the following message to Mars:

Hello. This is Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator, speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity Rover, which is now on the surface of Mars.Since the beginning of time, humankind's curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life...new possibilities just beyond the horizon. I want to congratulate the men and women of our NASA family as well as our commercial and government partners around the world for taking us a step beyond to Mars.

This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy - others have tried - only America has fully succeeded. The investment we are making...the knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater, will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.

Thank you.

According to NASA, the rover has already gathered more information from Mars than any of the earlier rovers combined.

Curiosity will now head to 400m east to Glenelg, which "appears to be the intersection of three distinct geological regions."