Mars Curiosity rover to land closer to the good stuff

When NASA's Curiosity rover lands on Mars on 5 August, it will be closer to its target than previously thought.
Mission team members announced on Monday that they have shrunk the rover's landing ellipse - the area that it has a 99 per cent chance of hitting - from 25 kilometres long by 20 kilometres wide to 20 by 7.
The rover will land in a region called Gale Crater with a 5-kilometre-high mound in the centre, which astronomers are calling Mount Sharp. The most interesting rocks, which the team hope preserve a record of liquid flowing in and out of the crater, are found at the mountain's base. After the rover lands and goes through its first check-up, its most important task is to drive to the mountain as quickly as possible.
The new landing ellipse could shorten that drive by up to four months. "The earlier we get there, the more time we have for science," said project manager Pete Theisinger in a press conference.