Nasa mars rover pictures7/7/2023 ![]() ![]() JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD, instrument, which appears as a white circle in the lower right of the image, has been helping scientists learn how to protect the first astronauts sent to Mars from radiation on the planet’s surface.Ĭuriosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. The image peers past the rear of the rover, providing a glimpse of its three antennas and nuclear power source. ![]() “Mars’ shadows get sharper and deeper when there’s low dust and softer when there’s lots of dust,” Ellison added. “Capturing two times of day provides dark shadows because the lighting is coming in from the left and the right, like you might have on a stage – but instead of stage lights, we’re relying on the Sun.”Īdding to the depth of the shadows is the fact that it was winter – a period of lower airborne dust – at Curiosity’s location when the images were taken. “Anyone who’s been to a national park knows the scene looks different in the morning than it does in the afternoon,” said Curiosity engineer Doug Ellison of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who planned and processed the images. Farther below (at center and just to the right) are two hills – “Bolívar” and “Deepdale” – that Curiosity drove between while exploring “Paraitepuy Pass.” In the distance beyond its tracks is Marker Band Valley, a winding area in the “ sulfate-bearing region” within which the rover discovered unexpected signs of an ancient lake. The rover, which has been on Mars since August 2012, captured the images with black-and-white navigation cameras on April 8, 2023, NASA said in a news release. Curiosity is in the foothills of Mount Sharp, which stands 3 miles (5 kilometers) high within Gale Crater, where the rover has been exploring since landing in 2012. ![]() Blue was added to parts of the postcard captured in the morning and yellow to parts taken in the afternoon, just as with a similar postcard taken by Curiosity in November 2021. local Mars time, providing dramatically different lighting that, when combined, makes details in the scene stand out. The views were taken on April 8 at 9:20 a.m. The postcard is an artistic interpretation of the landscape, with color added over two black-and-white panoramas captured by Curiosity’s navigation cameras. The storm was so intense that it darkened the sky for months, preventing sunlight from reaching the rover's solar panels.After completing a major software update in April, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover took a last look at “Marker Band Valley” before leaving it behind, capturing a “postcard” of the scene. Opportunity was exploring Mars' Perseverance Valley, fittingly, when the fiercest dust storm in decades hit and contact was lost. It contained hits like "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles, "Life On Mars?" by David Bowie, "Telephone Line" by Electric Light Orchestra, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty.Ĭlick here to view the full "Opportunity, Wake Up!" playlist NASA published their "Opportunity, Wake Up!" playlist on Spotify. NASA tried to wake up Opportunity daily with different songs, and it wasn't just Billie Holiday they thought might bring it out of sleep. "Even though it's a machine and we're saying goodbye, it's still very hard and very poignant, but we had to do that. "This is a hard day," project manager John Callas said in an auditorium packed with hundreds of current and former members of the team that oversaw Opportunity and its long-deceased identical twin, Spirit. ![]()
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