“The scientists behind NASA's $2.5 billion Curiosity rover mission on Mars on Tuesday explained the nature of a tiny, gleaming "flower" embedded in Red Planet rock, and revealed where they'll be using the SUV-sized robot's drill for the first time”. – Alan Boyle via NBCNews.com

Photo: Scientists say that a “Martian flower”, seen here in an image from the Curiosity rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager, is a 2-millimeter-wide grain or pebble that's embedded in the surrounding rock. Another, darker-colored mineral grain can be seen above and to the left. (Photo by NASA)

Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Sri Lankan military personnel march during the country's 66th Independence Day celebrations in the central town of Kegalle, about 40 kms from the capital Colombo on February 4, 2014. Sri Lanka cemmemorates its independence from British rule on February 4, 1948. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A bee approaching the flowers of a willow in Otzberg, Germany on February 28, 2021. Willow catkins are a protected species and one of the first sources of food for insects in early spring. (Photo by Arne Dedert/DPA)

People watch an eruption of the South East volcano of Etna is seen from the village of Nicolosi, Italy February 10, 2022. (Photo by Antonio Parrinello/Reuters)

A grey-bellied Night Monkey (Aotus Lemurinus) plays with a teddy bear at the veterinary clinic of the Cali Zoo in Cali, Colombia on January 27, 2020. They monkey is being raised by personnel of the Cali Zoo after a worker found it near the complex. Apparently it fall from a tree with his father who had health problems. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

This handout photo taken and released on August 1, 2025 by Indonesia's Geological Agency shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewing lava and volcanic ash up to approximately 10 kilometres high during its eruption as observed from the monitoring post in East Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on August 1, belching an ash tower 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) into the sky, the country's volcanology agency said, weeks after another huge eruption triggered dozens of flight cancellations to and from Bali. (Photo by Indonesia's Geological Agency/AFP Photo)

Children play at a beach in Lhoknga, Indonesia's Aceh province, on June 2, 2023. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)