The Curiosity rover sent back a self-portrait several days ago, and I'm sure many of you have already seen it. Still, it's amazing enough to be worth posting, and also detailed enough that we can examine different parts of it close-up with even better results than the full image. Although you get a sense looking at such landscapes that they are not that unfamiliar, you still realize that things are off from the way they would be on Earth, and the realization that this place is on another planet is always thrilling when it hits you.
First, the full image:
The rover itself is interesting, but what I find most compelling is the rover in context, particularly against the horizon:
In other space news, SpaceX did a slightly higher test flight of its reusable Grasshopper demonstrator rocket - a 10-story tall version of its Falcon 9 rocket's 1st stage with landing legs added to explore possibly flying stages back for reuse. This is a BFD. If the testing plays out and they find it's doable, it could lead to reductions in the cost of reaching space by up to a factor of 100 or more. It doesn't go very high in this test - this is only the second one (the first one was only a 6-foot hop). The new test is a bit higher. Remember, this damn thing is 10 stories tall: