Mars rover photographs first target - a rock

Millions of miles from Earth, and NASA's Curiosity rover is busy taking pictures of a Martian landscape.

New images of the Red Planet have been released, captured by the rover at the beginning of August.

They show the view of Mount Sharp - which Curiosity will visit in several months time.

But before the slow trek gets underway, the rover has identified its first target.

The rock, circled to the left of the picture, will be zapped by Curiosity's on-board lab.

The vaporised material will then be analysed to determine its chemical composition.

The experiment will form part of the rover's two year mission to search for signs of life on Mars.