The location was named Glenelg by NASA scientists for two reasons: all features in the immediate vicinity were given names associated with Yellowknife in northern Canada, and Glenelg is the name of a geological feature there. Furthermore, the name is a palindrome, and as the Curiosity rover is planned to visit the location twice (once coming, and once going) this was an appealing feature for the name.[3] The original Glenelg is a village in Scotland which on 20 October 2012 had a ceremony, including a live link to NASA, to celebrate their "twinning" with Glenelg on Mars.[4]
The trek to Glenelg will send the rover 400 m (1,300 ft) east-southeast of its landing site. One of the three types of terrain intersecting at Glenelg is layered bedrock, which is attractive as the first drilling target.[citation needed]
Images
First-year and first-mile traverse map of the Curiosity rover on Mars (1 August 2013) (3-D).
Curiosity's view of the Glenelg Area – where three terrains merge (19 September 2012).
"Burwash" rock on Mars - as viewed by the MAHLI camera on the Curiosity rover (29 October 2012).
"Et-Then" rock on Mars - as viewed by the MAHLI camera on the Curiosity rover (29 October 2012).
"Shaler" rock outcrop near the Glenelg Area on Mars - as viewed by the MastCam on the Curiosity rover (7 December 2012).
Curiosity's view of the Glenelg Area - from about 200 m (660 ft) away (19 September 2012).
Curiosity's view of the "Rocknest" area - South is center/North at both ends; "Mount Sharp" at SE horizon (somewhat left-of-center); "Glenelg" at East (left-of-center); rover tracks at West (right-of-center) (16 November 2012; white balanced) (raw color) (interactives).
Curiosity's view of the "Shaler" rock outcrop (foreground) near the Glenelg Area [NNW/left; West/center; SSW/right] (7 December 2012) (3-D).
^Holgate, Alastair. "Glenelg Scotland, twinned with Mars". The Glenelg and Arnisdale Tourist Information Guide. Glenelg and Arnisdale Tourist Information. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016.
