NASA has just released the first high-resolution colour photos of Mars, taken by the Curiosity rover.The fascinating images were beamed back after the vehicle’s second drive around the surface.
They detail a mound of layered rock where scientists plan to focus their search for signs of microbial life.
Distinct tiers can be seen near the base of the three-mile-high Mount Sharp mountain which rises from the Gale Crater.
Project scientist John Grotzinger hailed the images as “spectacular” when they were released yesterday.
He said: “We can sense that there is a big change on Mount Sharp.
“The higher layers are steeply slanted relative to the layers of underlying rock, the reverse of similar features found in Earth's Grand Canyon.
“The layers are tilted in the Grand Canyon due to plate tectonics, so it's typical to see older layers be more deformed and more rotated than the ones above them.
'In this case, you have flat-line layers on Mars overlaid by tilted layers.
“The science team, of course, is deliberating over what this means." And he added: "This thing just kind of jumped out at us as being something very different from what we ever expected.”
Curiosity successfully landed on the Red Planet on August 6 and will stay for the next two years to gather data. The nuclear-powered rover — about the size of a small car — cost £1.5billion to send to Mars as part of Nasa’s first astrobiology mission since the 1970s.
They detail a mound of layered rock where scientists plan to focus their search for signs of microbial life.
Distinct tiers can be seen near the base of the three-mile-high Mount Sharp mountain which rises from the Gale Crater.
Project scientist John Grotzinger hailed the images as “spectacular” when they were released yesterday.
He said: “We can sense that there is a big change on Mount Sharp.
“The higher layers are steeply slanted relative to the layers of underlying rock, the reverse of similar features found in Earth's Grand Canyon.
“The layers are tilted in the Grand Canyon due to plate tectonics, so it's typical to see older layers be more deformed and more rotated than the ones above them.
'In this case, you have flat-line layers on Mars overlaid by tilted layers.
“The science team, of course, is deliberating over what this means." And he added: "This thing just kind of jumped out at us as being something very different from what we ever expected.”
Curiosity successfully landed on the Red Planet on August 6 and will stay for the next two years to gather data. The nuclear-powered rover — about the size of a small car — cost £1.5billion to send to Mars as part of Nasa’s first astrobiology mission since the 1970s.
'Spectacular' ... shots from rover's second drive
Findings ... boffins say images reveal new details
Crisp ... shots are first ever colour high-res images
Announcement ... Nasa chiefs, including John Grotzinger, centre, proudly unveil new shots
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