Here’s a collection of some of the most striking shots that the rover has captured so far
In this image released by NASA on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, an image showing the heat shield of NASA’s Curiosity rover, obtained during descent to the surface of Mars. The image was obtained by the Mars Descent Imager instrument known as MARDI and shows the 15-foot diameter heat shield when it was about 50 feet from the spacecraft. (AP Photo/NASA)
After landing on Mars earlier this week, NASA’s Curiosity rover—a one-ton robotic explorer searching for signs of life—is beaming back its first images. NASA’s now released several of them, including the first colour panorama of Mars. Curiosity now sits on a large flat plane at the bottom of Gale Crater, where it landed; Aolis Mons (also known as Mount Sharp) is in the distance. Seen through Curiosity’s eyes, Mars is a reddish, dusty landscape—one that fully comes to life in these stunning pictures.