Q&A: Curiosity's spectacular Yellowknife Bay side-trip
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - 09:31
in Astronomy & Space
When the Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012, its primary destination was Mount Sharp, a three-mile-high mound a few miles south of the rover's landing site. But before making for the mountain, mission planners and scientists decided to take a slight detour to the North. Orbital instruments had spied an interesting-looking region of rock outcrop between the mountain and the crater rim. Because the rover had landed about a quarter-mile from this spot, it seemed worth popping up to take a look before proceeding to Mount Sharp, where the Curiosity is headed now.