Getting Acquainted

This composite image shows the terrain around Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory rover that landed on Mars on the night of August 5. The mountains in the distance are the rim of Gale Crater. After spending several days checking the rover's systems and activiting its cameras and other instruments, and analyzing the rocks and soil at the landing site, mission controllers will send the rover toward a tall mountain at the crater's center. Layers of rock in the mountainside will reveal details about the region's geologic history. Curiosity snapped these images on August 8. [NASA/JPL]