Curiosity Surveys Lower Mount Sharp on Mars
Explanation:
If you could stand on Mars -- what might you see?
If you were the
Curiosity rover,
then just last month you would have contemplated the
featured image --
a breathtaking panorama of the lower portion of
Mount Sharp.
The colors have been adjusted to mimic lighting familiar to
Earthlings.
Surveyed here was a rocky plain before increasingly high rolling hills.
The rounded hills in the middle distance, called the Sulfate Unit, are
Curiosity's
highest currently planned destination.
One reason these
hills are
interesting is because sulfates are an energy source for
some micro-organisms.
The
immediate path forward, though, was toward the southeast on the left part of
the image.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
