The Martian crater where Curiosity rover landed Sunday looks strikingly similar to the Mojave Desert in California, scientists said on Wednesday.

"The first impression that you get is how Earth-like this seems look at that landscape," said John Grotziner, Chief Scientist, California Institute of Technology.

Grotzinger said he was struck by the Martian landscape, which appeared diverse as there seemed to be harder material underneath the gravelly surface, Associated Press (AP) reported.

"It kind of makes you feel at home," Grotzinger said, adding, "We're looking at a place that feels really comfortable."

However, Mars is different from Earth. It's a frigid desert that is constantly bombarded by radiation. Geological signs indicate that it was previously a warmer and wetter place and the mission aims to find out how the planet transformed, AP added.

For the first time since the rover landed on the Gale Crater, it released a black and white self-portrait Wednesday that is being processed.

The recent photos show Curiosity looking toward the northern horizon. Adjacent to the crater are scour marks created by thrusters that kicked up a swirl of dust. Scientists dismissed concerns that Curiosity got dusty, AP noted.

"We do see a thin coating of dust, but nothing too bad," said Justin Maki, Imaging Scientist with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory that manages the $2.5 billion mission.

However, scientists were excited to see the scour marks as they reveal vital information of the bedrock below that may help in better understanding the landing site.

Curiosity Rover039s First Images Of Red Planet
The first full-resolution images of the Martian surface from the navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover, which are located on the rover's "head" or mast. The rim of Gale Crater can be seen in the distance beyond the pebbly ground.The topography of the rim is very mountainous due to erosion. The ground seen in the middle shows low-relief scarps and plains. The foreground shows two distinct zones of excavation likely carved out by blasts from the rover's descent stage thrusters. NASA/ JPL-Caltech
NASA039s Curiosity Rover039s Self Potrait
In this handout image provided by NASA and released on August 8, 2012, is the first image taken by the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover. It shows the shadow of the rover's now-upright mast in the center, and the arm's shadow at left. The arm itself can be seen in the foreground. The navigation camera is used to help find the sun -- information that is needed for locating, and communicating, with Earth. After the camera pointed at the sun, it turned in the opposite direction and took this picture. The position of the shadow helps confirm the sun's location. NASA
NASA Curiosity Rovers Self Potrait
In this image released by NASA on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, a self portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover was taken by its Navigation cameras, located on the now-upright mast. The camera snapped pictures 360-degrees around the rover. NASA
NASA Curiosity Rovers First Image
One of the first images taken soon after NASA's Curiosity rover landed on the Red Planet on Aug. 5. NASA
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