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MARS:

In this photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech, the surface of Mars is seen from NASA’s Curiosity rover front hazard avoidance cameras underneath the rover deck on Sol 0. on August 17, 2012 on Mars.

It is likely that Curiosity will begin to begin its ascent at Mount Sharp through hundreds of feet (meters) of layered deposits.

The lower several hundred feet (meters) show evidence of bearing hydrated minerals, based on orbiter observations.

The terrain Curiosity will explore is marked by hills, buttes, mesas and canyons on the scale of one-to-three story buildings, very much like the Four Corners region of the western United States.

Photo by: NASA/JPL-Caltech via Getty Images