BRUNSWICK, Maine — The surface appears to be sandy, but it’s nothing like Ogunquit Beach.
A scientist in Maine and her team have given familiar place names to some land features being visited by the red planet’s Curiosity rover.
The effort got attention on social media in March when Curiosity began scooping at the location, Ogunquit Beach. Images showed a fine, red sand.
Geologist R. Aileen Yingst is part of the team that assigned the Maine names.
Her job with the Planetary Science Institute is to photograph and analyze the planet’s surface looking for any clues in rocks or sand that might suggest whether Mars could have supported life. She does much of the work from her home in Brunswick.