Curiosity’s Next Step

Inhabited entirely by robots, Mars is the enigmatic planet that is under intense exploration by humanity.  The curiosity rover has been making it’s way closer to Mount Sharp in the Gale Crater, intending to slowly climb the mountain, sampling rocks from different eras in Mars’ history along the way.  One of the last regions to cross before beginning its ascent is the region known as the Bagnold dunes, strange dark features similar to sand dunes on Earth.  Photos from Curiosity show the beauty and detail in the dark features. The dark dunes have very interesting ripple features, similar to those...

A Panorama of Mars that feels Earth-like

Occasionally it’s strange to see photos from the Curiosity Rover on Mars.  Some of them feel distinctly like home.  I can almost imagine a person walking by on the soft sand, through the pathway of rocks, and over the horizon, like a traveller navigating the desert.  The latest panorama of Mars gives me that feeling in spades. And yet, this rusty world has too thin an atmosphere to allow a human to breathe.  It has no water to drink, and intense radiation from the Sun that prevents life from blanketing its surface.  It is human, and yet alien.  No homo...