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PIA15986: Behold Mount Sharp!
This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, informally called Mount Sharp. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) 
 Spacecraft:  Curiosity
 Product Size:  1024 x 1024 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  JPL 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA15986.tif (1.05 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA15986.jpg (101.8 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, Mount Sharp. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes. Rising up in the distance is Mount Sharp, whose peak is 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) high, taller than Mt. Whitney in California. The actual summit is not visible from this vantage point -- the highest elevation seen in this view is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) above the rover. The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers, which scientists think hold clues to past environmental change.

This image was captured by the rover's front left Hazard-Avoidance camera at full resolution shortly after it landed. It has been linearized to remove the distorted appearance that results from its fisheye lens.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2012-08-06