NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity cut a wheel scuff mark into a wind-formed ripple at the “Rocknest” site to give researchers a better opportunity to examine the particle-size distribution of the material forming the ripple. (Courtesy photo NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity has already broken ground on Mars, and now it’s breaking ground in the social media universe.
The rover became “mayor” of Gale Crater on Friday by checking in through Foursquare, the location-based social network, just as it prepared to scoop up some Martian sand for testing.
Curiosity had its own Twitter and Facebook accounts long before its momentous landing on the planet in August, and JPL plans to use Foursquare to keep track of the rover as it continues its two-year mission to search for ancient signs of microbial life.
Read also:
Mars rover Curiosity prepares for first soil scoop (Washington Post (blog))
Rover gets to play in 'sandbox' on Mars, give gizmos a test (The Keene Sentinel)
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