The view from Mount Sharp on Mars, as seen by the Curiosity rover on April 10, 2015. (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) The redrock canyons and up-tilted strata of eastern Utah form some of my favorite landscapes on Earth. So when I saw the scene visible in the image above it really stopped me dead in my tracks.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona Luckily, it didn't do the same for the Curiosity rover on Mars, which has been slowly climbing the Red Planet's Mount Sharp and sent this spectacular view of the surrounding landscape back to Earth in early April. What really strikes me about this image, and the ones to follow, is just how familiar it looks. The jagged skyline in the distance is part of the higher elevations of Mount Sharp. For a map showing the rover's route through this landscape, click on the thumbnail at right. (And for an explanation of ...
