NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity recently posed for a selfie in front of a beautiful Martian rock outcrop called “Mont Mercou,” after probing the area for clues about the Red Planet’s past.
Curiosity landed inside Mars’ 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater in August 2012 with a primary goal to find out if the planet is, or was, suitable for life. Earlier in March, the rover arrived at a scenic rock formation as it traversed the slopes of Mount Sharp — a 3-mile-tall (5 km) mountain located at the center of Gale Crater, which Curiosity has been climbing since September 2014.
This new rock formation — nicknamed Mont Mercou after a mountain in France — stands about 20 feet (6 meters) tall and can be seen to the left of the rover in the new selfie, which NASA released Tuesday (March 30).
I can’t tell if the photo is distorted or the rover is tilted! My toes are curled helping it hold on…