Which Samples and Updates Are Listed in the Gale Crater Database News?

Updated

The Gale Crater Mineralogy and Geochemistry (GCMG) database lists its newest sample additions and dataset revisions in a NEWS section on its home page. As of the site's current listing, the news covers two 2026 sample additions, a March 2026 mineral-table update for three existing samples, and two 2025 sample additions. The entries are short notices, not full changelogs, so they tell you what changed but not the revised values themselves.

What the NEWS section currently lists

Date Entry What it means for users
03/19/2026 Added data for samples Altadena and Valle de la Luna Two new sample records are now searchable in the database.
03/03/2026 Incorporated updated mineral composition tables for Marimba2, Quela, and Sebina Mineral composition data for these three samples changed; re-check any figures you previously pulled for them.
04/17/2025 Added data for Mammoth Lakes 2 and Kings Canyon Two sample records added in the prior year's update cycle.

The site's excerpt also begins a further entry dated 04/17/2025 ("We…"), but the visible text is truncated, so only the Mammoth Lakes 2 and Kings Canyon addition can be confirmed from the listed content.

How to use these entries

  • If you are looking for the newest samples: start with Altadena and Valle de la Luna, then Mammoth Lakes 2 and Kings Canyon. Use the SEARCH BY → Drill or Scoop entry point to locate sample records.
  • If you already downloaded data for Marimba2, Quela, or Sebina: treat the 03/03/2026 notice as a signal to re-download or re-check those mineral composition tables before reusing them in analysis.
  • If you are browsing by location or instrument: the home page also offers Rover traverse and CheMin Wheel search paths, which are separate from the news list.

Where the NEWS section sits and what else the page shows

NEWS appears as a labeled section on the database home page, alongside the three search entry points (Drill or Scoop, Rover traverse, CheMin Wheel). The same page presents mission context: 4,823 sols since landing in August 2015 (the page states "August 2015"), 22.58 miles driven from the landing site, a "Where is Curiosity?" link, and a note of 40+ samples collected and analyzed.

Citing the database

If you use any of these samples or updated tables in published work, the site provides a citation: Lafuente, B., Blake, D., Bristow, T., Rampe, E., Downs, R., Sarrazin, P., Downs, G., Stone, N., Pires, A., Vaniman, D., Yen, A., Franz, H., Lyness, E., & Fraeman, A. (2021). Gale Crater Mineralogy and Geochemistry database (GCMG) [Data set]. Open Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.48484/JN48-YW52

Because the news entries are dated notices rather than versioned release notes, cite the database as a whole and note the date you accessed it if you rely on the most recent sample additions or the revised Marimba2, Quela, and Sebina tables.