The Mars rover Opportunity yesterday sent back its first color panorama of the large Martian crater it reached last week after a 21-month trek, and NASA scientists could barely contain their excitement about what they saw.
The slide show is both nothing and everything. These are among the farthest photos, from wherever you are, ever taken. Quite possibly in the history of the universe. But all you see is a huge expansive crater in a land of rock and dust. Nothing.
On the other hand, that very vast dryness makes you think:
Opportunity found geological evidence soon after landing that Mars once had liquid water. (Today, the only detectable water is in the form of ice at the poles.) But scientists hope the layers of rock in Victoria will provide new clues about whether that wet period was persistent, fleeting or cyclical.
So whether or not there were ever sentient or humanoid beings on Mars, did they get hit with a cataclysmic climate change?
Are we the second chance?
When we look at these Mars photos, are we looking into Earth's future?
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