Curious Update

Lots going on Mars even though Curiosity is still being checked out and set up! Will thos folks in Curiosity's Mission Control ever stop partying? For example, how about a view of the local area? The landing thrusters exposed bedrock! (And I wonder why so much of the surface above the bedrock is flat and uniform in appearance: did something erode or move away the boulders we've seen at the other landing sites?) Before and after views of the landing site: watch carefully and you'll see bits and pieces from the landing sequence appear. A closer view, here, shows the appearance of the ballast used in the landing. Similar image here (we sure are messing up the neighborhood!).