National

Mars Images Reveal 'Bizarre' Landscape

By Joe Palca

Published January 25, 2004 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 21 years ago.

Scientists say the Mars rover known as Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet late Saturday, has landed inside a small impact crater completely different from any other place explored by previous robots. Early images from Opportunity reveal the first bedrock outcrop ever encountered on Mars, as well as "bizarre red gray soil." Hear NPR's Joe Palca.

National

Joe Palca

Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. From 2011 to 2020 he produced stories that explored the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors as part of his series, Joe's Big Idea. Palca is also the founder of NPR Scicommers – A science communication collective.

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