This Week in the Future, August 6-10, 2012

Curiosity wins the gold medal for being just the best Mars rover out there. Way to go, buddy. You’ve made this a real fun week.

Want to win this medal-winning Baarbarian illustration on a T-shirt? It’s easy! The rules: Follow us on Twitter (we’re @PopSci) and retweet our This Week in the Future tweet. One of those lucky retweeters will be chosen to receive a custom T-shirt with this week’s Baarbarian illustration on it, thus making the winner the envy of their friends, coworkers and everyone else with eyes. (Those who would rather not leave things to chance and just pony up some cash for the t-shirt can do that here.) The stories pictured herein:

• New Images Show Mars Rover Curiosity’s New Home in Gale Crater, and Its Mountain Destination
• New Image Shows Mars Rover Curiosity Parachuting Toward Perfect Landing
• Are Recent Extreme Weather Events Caused By Global Warming? NASA Scientist Says Yes
• What Our Eyes Say About Our Sexual Preferences

And don’t forget to check out our other favorite stories of the week:

• The Many Ways Mars Rover Curiosity Might Phone Home
• Why the Mars Rover Curiosity’s Crazy, Complicated Landing Isn’t So Crazy After All
• The Scene at NASA’s Mars Rover Landing Watch: Peanuts, Playoff Beards and Other Curiosities
• Watching Curiosity’s Mars Landing Live on a 53-Foot Screen in Times Square
• The Fully Electronic, Futuristic Starting Gun That Eliminates Advantages in Races
• Olympics FYI: Why Is Cannabis Considered a Performance-Enhancing Drug?
• PopSci Video: NASA Engineers Land the Mars Rover Curiosity
• The Coolest Warbots, Drones, and Unmanned Tech at the Robotic Systems Show
• How A Sundial Lets Curiosity See Mars in Living Color
• Amazing Photos From Mars Rover Curiosity’s Viewing Parties
• Video: The Trucker Who Reverse-Engineered An Atomic Bomb In His Spare Time
• FYI: Does Training at High Altitudes Help Olympians Win?

To Test the Cutting Edge In Weather Radar, PopSci Goes Storm Chasing in an Airplane * Lockheed Martin’s ‘Flying Humvee’ Concept Gets a Lift from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter * Test Drive: The 2013 Audi Allroad * May 1941: Eat Ice Cream Before Exercising or Replace it With Shopping * Curiosity’s Legacy: What This Week’s Successful Landing Means for the Future of Robotic Space Exploration * At America’s Biggest Drone Show, the Focus Shifts Toward Domestic Skies