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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 11509515" data-attributes="member: 92282"><img src="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/msl112511/s_m07_573303ma.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> NASA has selected Gale crater as the landing site  for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The mission's rover will be  placed on the ground in a northern portion of the crater in August 2012.  This view of Gale is a mosaic of observations made in the visible-light  portion of the spectrum by the Thermal Emission Imaging System camera  on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. Gale crater is 96 miles (154 kilometers)  in diameter and holds a layered mountain rising about 3 miles (5  kilometers) above the crater floor. The ellipse superimposed on this  image indicates the intended landing area, 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) by  15.5 miles (25 kilometers). The portion of the crater within the  landing area has an alluvial fan likely formed by water-carried  sediments. The lower layers of the nearby mountain - within driving  distance for Curiosity - contain minerals indicating a wet history. </blockquote>

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