No doubt about it, NASA explores some of the most awe-inspiring locations in our solar system and beyond. Once seen, who can forget the majesty of astronaut Jim Irwin standing before the stark beauty of the Moon’s Hadley Apennine mountain range, of the Hubble Space Telescope’s gorgeous “Pillars of Creation” or Cassini’s magnificent mosaic of Saturn?
Mars also plays a part in this visually compelling equation, with the high-definition imagery from the Curiosity rover of the ridges and rounded buttes at the base of Mount Sharp bringing to mind the majesty of the American Southwest. That said, Elysium Planitia – the site chosen for the Nov. 26 landing of NASA’s InSight mission to Mars – will more than likely never be mentioned with those above because it is, well, plain.
“If Elysium Planitia were a salad, it would consist of romaine lettuce and kale – no dressing,” said InSight principal investigator Bruce Banerdt at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “If it were an ice cream, it would be vanilla.”
Yes, the landing site of NASA’s next Mars mission may very well look like a stadium parking lot, but that is the way the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) project likes it… [More at link]