Earthrise, Gusev Crater

On Earth it is 3:20 AM Universal Time on June 30, 2010. Due to the speed of light, a message from Mars would not reach Earth until 3:32 UT. This is the exact view you would see looking East from Gusev Crater, Mars. The Sun is shortly due to rise at the center of the frame. Rising ahead of the Sun, the bright starlike object at top centre is Earth. All of human history, the struggle to understand the world, has taken place on that tiny dot. This is a view that no human being has seen before.

The bright object between Earth and the horizon is Jupiter. This month the largest planet is on the far side of the Sun, making it appear among the inner planets. Uranus, just above the horizon, is too faint to be seen. From the vantage point of Mars one could easily view Earth, Venus and Mercury circling the Sun. If there were intelligent life on Mars they would long ago have figured out the Copernican model, something Earth beings didn't accept until barely 500 years ago. Travel to the Moon and Mars leads to scientific insights that no one has yet imagined.

Gusev Crater was also landing site of the Spirit Rover. Since 2009 Spirit has been stuck in loose regolith, becoming a stationary research platform. No communication has been received from Spirit since March 22, 2010. She may have gone into hibernation to conserve batteries. The Winter solstice occurred here on May 13, so the chances of Spirit waking are warming up. When humans travel to Mars, we will follow their survival with even greater interest. Travel to Mars is risky for machines and people, but it is our ultimate adventure.