Looks like we’re not the only pale blue dot in the solar system. A newly released image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows us that from way up high, our Curiosity rover is nothing more than a lonely, itty bitty blue speck amidst a sea of red.
Captured on June 27, 2013, the scene depicts the entirety of Curiosity’s original landing site all the way over to the “Glenelg” area, where it spent the first half of 2013 working diligently away. Considering the scale of the photo, the total area of scorched land at the Bradbury Landing site (identifiable by its two bluish scour marks) is pretty incredible.
From this pont on, Curiosity will embark on a nine-month journey southward, towards the lower layers of Mount Sharp. So judging by the track marks and considering the relatively short distance it’s traveled so far, Curiosity ain’t seen nothing yet. [NASA]
Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona