Posted 08.28.2012 at 12:58 pm
6 Comments
Mount Sharp
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Since we don't have the usual landmarks on Mars that we enjoy on Earth, it can be tough to get a sense of scale for the great shots we've seen from Mars rover Curiosity. In this photo of Mount Sharp--Curiosity's scientific destination--the mound in the center of the image is about 1,000 feet across and 300 feet high. Curiosity, relative to that, looks like a speck of dirt, as you can see after the jump.
Mount Sharp, Annotated: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA also released this annotated version. Both images of Mount Sharp, taken by the rover's 100-millimeter mast camera, are part of a larger image. This cropped version is enhanced with color, which gives it a more Earth-like look, making it easier to analyze. That little black rock is about the size of Curiosity. And if you thought Curiosity was puny, you're mistaken. It's a full 10 feet long, dwarfing its sibling rovers and humans.
Three Generations of Rovers: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Needless to say, it has a lot of ground to cover.
[NASA]
6 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Science
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2013: American Energy Independence
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Science
- Scientists Create First Cloned Human Embryo
- State Drops Charges Against High School Student Arrested For Science Experiment
- Dear Schools: Stop Treating Science-Curious Kids Like Criminals
- Mexican Cartels Control Pot Farms As Far North As Washington State
- Buzz Aldrin Wants To Send People On A One-Way Trip To Mars
- Giving White People The Illusion Of Darker Skin Makes Them Less Racist
- What Modern Humans Can Learn From The Neanderthals' Extinction
- Space Tourism's Black Carbon Problem
- Untouched For The Last Billion Years, Water In Canadian Mine Holds Ingredients For Life
- How Do You Make A Painkiller Addiction-Proof?
Most Emailed
Science
- Giant Carnivorous Plant Found In Silicon Valley
- Candy Totally Won't Make You Fat, Says Study Funded By Big Candy
- How Science Got The 'Crack Baby' Epidemic So Wrong
- FYI: Can A Bionic Eye See As Well As A Human Eye?
- Navy Dolphins Searching For Mines Uncover Sunken 19th Century Torpedo
- Spring 2012 Was The Earliest On Record
- FYI: Do Wind Farms Make It Less Windy?
- FYI: Do Parasites Get Parasites?
- Study Finds Correlation Between Fiscal Conservatism And Big Biceps
- The Week In Numbers: Fire In Space, The First Cloned Human Embryo, And More
Most Viewed
Science
- Giant Carnivorous Plant Found In Silicon Valley
- Candy Totally Won't Make You Fat, Says Study Funded By Big Candy
- How Science Got The 'Crack Baby' Epidemic So Wrong
- FYI: Can A Bionic Eye See As Well As A Human Eye?
- Navy Dolphins Searching For Mines Uncover Sunken 19th Century Torpedo
- Spring 2012 Was The Earliest On Record
- FYI: Do Wind Farms Make It Less Windy?
- FYI: Do Parasites Get Parasites?
- Study Finds Correlation Between Fiscal Conservatism And Big Biceps
- The Week In Numbers: Fire In Space, The First Cloned Human Embryo, And More
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
its so weird to see something millions of miles away, some what resemble our world. I LOVE IT!!!!
efruntz,
In case your curious, because you sentence cause me to be curious.
wiki.answers.com/Q/How_far_is_Mars_from_the_Earth
As both Mars and Earth orbit the Sun (at different speeds) and both have slightly elliptical orbits this is not an easy question to answer because at some point Earth and Mars will be on opposite sides of the Sun and therefore very far apart while at other points they will both be on the same side of the Sun and therefore much closer together.
On average Mars orbits the Sun at a distance of 227,939,100 km. On average the Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 149,597,888 km.
Thus the distance between their "average" orbital paths is 78,341,212 Km. However, they would actually only be this distance from one another on rare occasions.
Depending on where they are in their respective orbits, they can be anywhere from 36 million miles to over 250 million miles apart.
After billions spent it can now be confirmed. Mars is, in fact, made of dirt.
I guess I win the office pool.
Can the USA claim squatter’s rights for Mars, since we have been operating on Mars for years now?
If the answer is yes, when will plots go for sale?
I think you have to have a presence there to claim land. Which is why I am volunteering to be a part of the first colony.
Where do I sign up?
there are new pictures that show UFO's floating around curiosity. we are not alone. look it up.
"You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." -Morpheus