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| Mars - Nambi Dunes image was taken by Mastcam: Left (MAST_LEFT) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 1194 (2015-12-16 01:59:11 UTC). |
Curiosity's 1194th day on Mars ended with the beautiful image above. The rover is beginning to approach the steep hill at Namib dune at Gale Crater, getting closer every day to the target of Mount Sharp.
So far Curiosity has travelled approximately 8.6 Kilometres since its 2012 landing. This doesn't sound like very far, considering we could walk this in just a few hours, so why has it taken so long?
Curiosity is a $2.5 billion dollar, 1 tonne rover, which is over 2 years from Earth with no option of calling a tow truck if times get tough. So I don't blame NASA for wanting to take good care of her! The Martian surface is a rough and unpredictable mixture of sand, dirt, rocks and dunes. Each surface must be carefully manoeuvred slowly to insure minimal damage to the rover and its wheels.
Although the journey to Mount Sharp will be a long one, the images captured on the way will continue to give a first hand view at our neighbouring alien planet.
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