3Q: The next Mars rover’s destination
When the next-generation Mars rover, dubbed Curiosity, touches down on martian soil next summer, its cameras will likely capture a scene similar to what the first explorers of the Grand Canyon witnessed: towering layers of rock and sediment rising up from a dusty valley. On Friday, NASA officials announced that Curiosity will land in a region named Gale Crater, a large depression with a massive, finely stratified mountain at its center. For two years, the rover will explore and sample sediments from the crater's valleys and cliffs, seeking signs of habitability. Maria Zuber, the Earle A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and Planetary Science and head of MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, says Gale Crater may reveal clues about Mars' past. She spoke with MIT News about a future in which humans might explore the Red Planet. Q. What makes Gale Crater an ideal...