“Studying whether there’s life on Mars or studying how the universe began, there’s something magical about pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. That’s something that is almost part of being human, and I’m certain that will continue.” -Sally Ride
When Curiosity landed on the martian surface in 2012, surviving "seven minutes of terror," it went straight to work, examining its surroundings and teaching us about the martian geology of its region.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems, via http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16453.html#.VQYFwmR….
But by time the end of the (Earth) year came around, it began to embark upon a different project: constructing the first billion-pixel mosaic panorama of the Red Planet. The results, well, spectacularly speak for themselves.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems, via http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16453.html#.VQYFwmR….
Go view the entire thing on Mostly Mute Monday: Marvelous Mars!
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“Studying whether there’s life on Mars or studying how the universe began, there’s something magical about pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. That’s something that is almost part of being human, and I’m certain that will continue.” -Sally Ride
When you travel some hundred-million kilometers…
“Earth as an ecosystem stands out in the all of the universe. There’s no place that we know about that can support life as we know it, not even our sister planet, Mars, where we might set up housekeeping someday, but at great effort and trouble we have to recreate the things we take for granted…
“We are much closer today to being able to send humans to Mars than we were to being able to send men to the moon in 1961, and we were there eight years later. Given the will, we could have humans on Mars within a decade.” -Robert Zubrin
This is what we can accomplish when we invest in something…
"Studying whether there's life on Mars or studying how the universe began, there's something magical about pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. That's something that is almost part of being human, and I'm certain that will continue." -Sally Ride
If you came to the Solar System some 500 million…
I want to go!
Brilliant pics, as ever, Ethan.
I,ve seen places similar just out of Alice Springs ! Metal detector territory?
How amazing is this world. We are curious as humans exploring new and interesting places. Mars is hopefully just a stepping stone for future exploration in our marvelous galaxy. u15079709
It's truly amazing being able to see such a view of Mars. It may now only look like a barren wasteland of rocks and sand, but maybe in the distant future humans will in fact colonize it. If we can regulate oxygen levels and strike water it could very well be possible to colonize the planet.
15099157
Indeed the Mars One project aims to establish a permanent human colony by 2027. Keep in mind that's just as far away as 2003. Whatever the future holds, it is unquestionably exciting!
u15028462
I have always wanted to go to Mars! Can't wait for all the photo's future projects will yield.
Are there photographs of the surface of any other celestial bodies, excluding the earth, moon and Mars?
Any guesses on what the big discovery on Mars will be announced today?
I'm thinking it will be the mates to all the lost socks from the laundry and the match to the other shoe you've seen laying on the sides of roadways.