I am not a big fan of the space program. I would much rather the money were spent on something I consider useful, like a high speed train to Los Angeles. But the pictures that come out of the program are amazing. This is a picture of Falling Material Kicks Up Cloud of Dust on Dunes according to NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
It is everything I could hope for: mysterious and beautiful. The picture above is a detail of the picture below. About a third of the way up from the bottom and a third of the way in from the left, is a dust cloud kicked up by the sun warming and melting carbon dioxide ice. This is a picture taken on Mars and sent here by a robot!
Steve, these photographs are amazing to look at and wonder, thanks for posting them.
One article I read about these photos said these were trees?? They don’t look like trees to me, or at least not like any tree I know.
I’m ambivalent about the space program. Yes, the money could be put to better use here, but exploration is in our bones. Who knows what might be discovered at some point; maybe something to help us (the world) get our shit together. I hope.
Beautiful pictures! When I think of the wonder that these pictures, those of the Hubble, and the first views of earth from space (among others) have elicited, I’m glad we have the space program. Do I think there are other things that need our collective attention? You bet. But the answer is for us to find other ways of supporting them. We could start with a bit less personal consumption and bit more support for the community perhaps.