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space-iconSpace and Physics
clock-iconPUBLISHEDJune 21, 2017

NASA Snaps Picture Of Curiosity From Orbit

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti headshot

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.

Space & Physics Editor

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.View full profile

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.

View full profile
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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this picture of Curiosity (blue dot) on June 5, 2017. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona


It’s always good to keep an eye on your robots, so NASA used the incredible resolution of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to take a shot of Curiosity (blue dot in image) at work on the surface of the Red Planet on June 5, 2017.

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The car-sized rover is currently busy studying dunes located on the side of Mount Sharp. Curiosity has been slowly climbing the mountain over the last five years with the goal of better understanding Mars’ geology and maybe even finding traces of extinct microbes.

The picture was taken with the sophisticated High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which has been used to take panoramas of the curious Martian surface. In this image, the colors have been exaggerated to highlight the contrast between the rocks, while Curiosity appears a lot bluer than in reality.

On August 5, Curiosity will celebrate its fifth birthday on Mars.


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