Curiosity Rover Photographed on Mount Sharp from Mars Orbit
Photo recently captured by NASA from Mars orbit shows the Curiosity Rover in a lonely expanse of the Red Planet.
Curiosity Rover on Mars
See that blue speck? That’s the Curiosity Rover photographed by NASA in high definition from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
“When the image was taken,” NASA says, “Curiosity was partway between its investigation of active sand dunes lower on Mount Sharp, and ‘Vera Rubin Ridge,’ a destination uphill where the rover team intends to examine outcrops where hematite has been identified from Mars orbit. The rover’s surroundings include tan rocks and patches of dark sand.”
Curiosity landed on Mars August 6, 2012. According to NASA, “Lower Mount Sharp was chosen as a destination for the Curiosity mission because the layers of the mountain offer exposures of rocks that record environmental conditions from different times in the early history of the Red Planet. Curiosity has found evidence for ancient wet environments that offered conditions favorable for microbial life, if Mars has ever hosted life.”
