Aeolis Palus Aeolis Palus Aeolis Palus is a plain between the northern wall of Gale crater and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp) on Mars. It is located at . The NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission landed the "Curiosity" rover on Aeolis Palus in August 2012. "Curiosity" spent two (Earth) years exploring the plain as it drove towards Aeolis Mons. The rover left the plain in September 2014 when it reached the mountain's foothills. On August 5, 2012, at 10:32 p.m. PDT/mission time (August 6, 2012 at 5:32 UTC), mission control at JPL received a signal from the NASA "Curiosity"
Yellowknife Bay, Mars The crater's central feature is a mountain called Aeolis Mons, nicknamed Mount Sharp. Geologic units in the interior of the crater offer a wide range of relative ages of the impact and provide a detailed geologic history of activities within the crater. Gale Crater is the landing site of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, which was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011 and landed at the site designated Bradbury Landing on August 6, 2012. The rover is equipped with a more advanced suite of instruments than has ever landed on an extraterrestrial planet, perfect for assessing the geology