Photo of the day: Curiosity eyes Mt. Sharp

Arthur Clarke observed that when technology works really well, it might easily come across as magic.  That is what it felt like when I watched on TV, last night, NASA's coverage of Curiosity's landing on Mars.  After those seven minutes of terror, it was all high-fives all around. 

WALL-E Curiosity will dig, pulverize, and analyze the Martian surrounding so that we can get a little more of an understanding of those big questions that have dogged us forever: how did we get here? are we alone in this universe?

While it is so tempting to anthropomorphize this machine, it is difficult not to think that Curiosity is a brave little pioneer, venturing all alone in a truly alien territory.  And, for now, it is looking at:

This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, Mount Sharp. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes. Rising up in the distance is the highest peak Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles, taller than Mt. Whitney in California. The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers, which scientists think hold clues to past environmental change.

At the presser, the NASA folks pointed out that this cost about $7 per man, woman, and child in America.  That is it!  What a deal it is, when even a danish and a latte will cost more than this at Starbucks.  Odd that we are routinely willing to pay multiple millions of dollars to football-playing entertainers, while we balk at funding such scientific endeavors.  Oh well; every day is yet another revelation of the strange humans we are!