Checking in on the Mars rovers

Hey folks! Remember those Athena rovers we have up on Mars? They're still exploring and taking amazing photos, like this dazzling one of Burns Cliff:

Sure, there's some false color there--particularly the blue sky--but it's impressive the way space buffs are stitching together separate images to give us these gorgeous panoramics. Looking at the full-sized image, the stratification layers in the cliff are very sharply defined. If you look hard enough, you can almost see embedded fossils (of course, a degree of wishful thinking is required). I could easily see this image on postcards sold in Martian souvenir shops. With Virgin Galactic starting up, this may be the next great tourist destination.

There are more images, as well as discussions over at the Mars Exploration Rover Forum.

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