I’m with Steve Silberman, who tweeted this image, taken by the Mars Curiosity rover. Silberman, a science journalist, pointed out how amazing it is to be able to have access to photos of Mars that look totally ordinary, decidedly un-exotic, and even a little dull.
There is a delightful irony here. Think of all the work, all the skill, all the serious intelligence that went into getting Curiosity to Mars. This photo is kind of boring. But it represents something truly wonderful and exciting. It’s mundane. But it’s the mundanity of M*#&$%*!(*%ING MARS.
I dig it. And I’m a little surprised there wasn’t already a Tumblr for it.
Check out Steve Silberman’s excellent, science-packed Twitter feed