If successful, and the research appears to be heading in that direction, a few added spices and whatnots could potentially arm vegetarians with a technology edge over their meat-eating colleagues, while vastly lowering the amount of needed energy, land, and fresh water.
By extending the arm outwards and tuning Mahli back to look in the direction of the rover, a sequence of images can be acquired that anyone can then assemble into a large mosaic using the appropriate software.
"It's a real business, a growing business, and it's only going in one direction, " said Dede Nickerson, head of production and strategic development for the China arm of Sony Corp.