This awesome photo shows what it'd be like to stand on Mars
This is what the first human explorers might see when they step outside their spacecraft and take their first steps on Mars:
The Mars Curiosity rover took this image of the Namib dune in the Gale Crater on Mars. (Click here to download the high-resolution image.)
NASA did a color adjustment on the image to make the rocks and sand appear as they would on Earth in broad daylight.
The distorted-looking equipment is actually the rover itself, and the Namib dune appears as a darker-brown pile of sand in the foreground.
You can also see part of Mount Sharp rising in the background:
Right now Curiosity is getting closer and closer to Mount Sharp - part of a mountain range that sits in the middle of the crater.
Curiousity took this panorama on December 18, 2015 on its 1,197th sol on Mars. Martian days are called "sols" because they're slightly longer than Earth days.
The rover is gathering data and surface samples that will better prepare the first astronauts who travel to Mars. While humans might not land in the same spot as Curiosity, it's exciting to get an idea of what their first glimpse of the rocky, desert-like horizon will look like.
You can scope out more panoramic views of Mars here.