Attacking Mars

Explanation: The Spirit rover attacked Mars again late last month. What might look, above, like a military attack, though, was once again just a scientific one - Spirit was instructed to closely inspect some interesting rocks near Columbia Hills . Spirits Front Hazard Avoidance Camera captured the rover's Instrument Deployment Device above as it guided the Microscopic Imager to get a closer look at a rock dubbed Breadbox . Images taken by the Microscopic Imager show a rock surface consistent with basalt corroded by ancient groundwater . Structures with similar origins can be found, for example, in the Western Desert of Egypt on Earth . The above picture taken on June 30, the 175th Martian day that the Spirit rover has been on the red planet .