Curiosity Inspects Mt. Remarkable on Mars

The Curiosity rover, like a hero in a Pixar film, continues to explore Mars. Bumbling along the Red Planet’s rocky terrain, the robot has sent home some incredible images.

Here’s one that it captured of Mount Remarkable, a 5-meter tall mound at the 5.5-kilometer high Mt. Sharp. Now the Curiosity’s team on Earth is investigating the formation of Mt. Sharp. NASA explains:

Unsure of the density of the surrounding layered sandstone, the human team on Earth has instructed the car-sized rover on Mars to drill into a rock on the side of Mt. Remarkable to investigate. Quite possibly, water involved in creating the dense sandstone could have helped to support ancient life on the red planet. Mt. Sharp, the unusual central peak of Gale Crater, has a similar base-to-peak height as Earth’s Mt. Everest.

Image credit: NASA