[More from Mashable: Curiosity Rover to Broadcast Will.i.am Song Live on Mars [VIDEO]]
NASA has sent a voice message to another planet and back for the first time in human history.
The message, which was sent via radio transmission to the Mars rover and back to NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) on Earth, is a spoken-word congratulatory note from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
[More from Mashable: New NASA Satellites Have Android Smartphones for Brains]
"The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future," said Bolden in the recorded message.
Together with this announcement NASA has released the first high-resolution telephoto images from Mars, showing Curiosity's destination -- the base of Mount Sharp.
The images were taken by the 100mm telephoto lens and the 34mm wide angle lens of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument atop the Mars rover.
"This is an area on Mount Sharp where Curiosity will go. Those layers are our ultimate objective. The dark dune field is between us and those layers. In front of the dark sand you see redder sand, with a different composition suggested by its different color. The rocks in the foreground show diversity -- some rounded, some angular, with different histories. This is a very rich geological site to look at and eventually to drive through," said Mastcam principal investigator Michael Malin.
Image credit: NASA
First Curiosity Tracks: Closeup
The rover takes it first cruise on the Martial surface.
Click here to view this gallery.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
No comments:
Post a Comment