NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured what’s believed to be the primary orbital picture of the Curiosity rover “on the transfer.”
The exceptional {photograph}, enhanced to carry out the small print, clearly reveals the tracks created by Curiosity’s six wheels because it rolls throughout the crimson planet’s barren panorama, with a tiny speck denoting the rover itself.
“NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has by no means been digital camera shy, having been seen in selfies and pictures taken from house. However on February 28 … Curiosity was captured in what’s believed to be the primary orbital picture of the rover mid-drive throughout the crimson planet.” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing the Curiosity mission, mentioned in a publish.
The picture was taken by the MRO’s HiRISE (Excessive-Decision Imaging Science Experiment) digital camera, with the tracks calculated to be about 1,050 ft (320 meters) in size. Curiosity is proven near the bottom of a steep slope, which JPL says the rover has since ascended. The automobile, which arrived on Mars in 2012, drives utilizing a mix of distant instructions from Earth and onboard autonomy, with JPL engineers working alongside scientists to plan every day’s trek.
NASA mentioned the tracks will in all probability stay seen “for months” earlier than martian winds erase them.
“They characterize roughly 11 drives beginning on February 2 as Curiosity trucked alongside at a high velocity of 0.1 mph (0.16 kph) from Gediz Vallis channel on the journey to its subsequent science cease,” JPL mentioned.
NASA’s rover has been spending its time learning whether or not Mars ever had environmental situations appropriate for microbial life. It’s additionally been gathering information on the planet’s local weather and geology, and analyzing the surroundings in preparation for future crewed missions.
MRO orbits Mars at an altitude starting from about 155 to 196 miles (250 to 315 kilometers), with its main mission targets to review Mars’ geology and local weather, seek for indicators of water, and assist different Mars missions by relaying information and scouting potential touchdown websites for future missions.
Curiosity isn’t the one NASA rover trundling throughout the martian floor. The extra superior Perseverance rover has been on the crimson planet since arriving there in a spectacular landing — captured on hi-res video — in 2021.
On a transparent evening, you may view Mars up till November. So the subsequent time you see it, pause for a second to think about that on that distant planet, NASA has a few rovers tootling about, performing science analysis dreamed up by people all the best way again right here on Earth.
