Sometimes, even rovers on Mars stop to admire the scenery. Just late last November the
Curiosity rover on
Mars paused to photograph its
impressive surroundings. One thing to admire, straight ahead, was
Central Butte, an unusual flat hill studied by Curiosity just a few days before this image was taken. To its right was distant
Mount Sharp, the five-kilometer central peak of entire Gale crater, the interior of which Curiosity is exploring. Mount Sharp, covered in
sulfates, appears quite bright in
this colorized, red-filtered image. To the far left, shrouded in a very dark shadow, was the south slope of Vera Rubin ridge, an elevation explored previously by Curiosity. Between the ridge and butte were tracks left by Curiosity's wheels as they rolled forward, out of the scene. In the image foreground is, of course, humanity's current eyes on Mars: the complex robotic rover Curiosity itself. Later this year, if all goes well,
NASA will have
another rover -- and more eyes -- on Mars. Today you can
help determine the name of this rover yourself, but tomorrow is the last day to cast your vote.
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