Curiosity mission planner Dawn Sumner said photographs like the ones beamed back by the rover, as well as others taken by probes in orbit, will be used to map a path to the mountain's base -- "doing the best science we can along the way, but also keeping our eyes on that beautiful layered rock, " she said.
In fact, it was at the dawn of the JFK era 51 years ago when the U.S. Navy sent sent the first and only mission to the Challenger Deep when a submersible called the Trieste spent 20 minutes on the ocean bottom.