Right now, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is doing something exciting: shoveling sand.
In December, the rover reached a new territory called Bagnold Dunes, which is rich with one of Mars' most iconic landscapes: dunes.
The Bagnold Dunes are on the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp, a mountain at the center of Gale Crater.
Now, the rover is scooping up samples of the grains and offering an unprecedented view and examination of what they're made of.
Check out some of the amazing pictures Curiosity is sending back:
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This is Curiosity's latest selfie in Bagnold Dunes, composed of 57 different photos captured on January 19. To test the sands, the rover recently dug one of its 20-inch wheels into a nearby dune. You can see the tire marks in the center.
Notice how the landscape contrasts with the rocky terrain at the "Big Sky" site that Curiosity crossed in October.
For years, scientists knew from satellite images that Mars had a surprisingly active climate that could shift sand dunes. Now, Curiosity is in the middle of the Bagnold Dunes territory (below), which has dunes that move up to 3 feet every Earth year.
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