New Curiosity Image Reminds Us That Mars Is a Truly Beautiful Place

It could also be bitterly chilly, devoid of breathable oxygen, and baked in lethal radiation, however Mars has an plain appeal. A brand new picture captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover and colorized by mission staff members is testomony to the Red Planet’s aesthetic brilliance.

To be clear, this picture is just not a real portrayal of how the scene can be seen by means of human eyes. In a news release, NASA describes it as an “artistic interpretation” created by Curiosity mission staff members who have been “stunned by the sweeping landscape.” The picture is an amalgam of two black-and-white photographs taken at totally different occasions of the Martian day, offering “contrasting lighting conditions that brought out a variety of landscape details,” in line with NASA.

That stated, I can’t think about that this view, as seen from excessive up on Mount Sharp, can be any much less spectacular if seen within the flesh. Curiosity has been climbing this mountain for the previous seven years, and its view of the Martian panorama solely appears to get higher the upper it goes.

Indeed, the rover’s present perspective has a lot to supply, together with a shocking view of the crater rim stretching alongside the horizon. Mount Sharp rises up some 18,000 toes (5.5 kilometers) from the ground of Gale Crater—a 96-mile-wide (154-kilometer) gash created by an historical impression occasion. At 7,500 toes (2.3 kilometers) tall, the crater rim is seen on the horizon at distances between 18 and 25 miles (30-40 km), in line with NASA.

And take a look at these rounded hills at center-right, or that sand ripple patch, known as the “Sands of Forvie,” as seen within the heart of the picture. At the very proper of the picture is Rafael Navarro Mountain, a rugged, rocky geological function named after a Curiosity staff member who just lately handed away.

This mosaic occurred considerably unexpectedly. Curiosity captures a 360-degree panorama every time it completes a drive, utilizing its black-and-white navigation cameras (these superb shade pictures we’re used to seeing are produced by the rover’s Mastcam instrument). Images taken by the nav-cams are extra for utility, they usually’re captured in compressed format to make the following knowledge switch to Earth much less onerous.

This specific view, nevertheless, was too particular to disregard. Curiosity was thus instructed to take two photographs, one within the morning and one within the late afternoon, which it did on November 16, 2021. The staff wished to benefit from the contrasting mild. Hues of orange, blue, and inexperienced have been then added, permitting the staff to “represent the scene as viewed at different times of day,” in line with NASA. Blue represents the morning view, orange the afternoon, and inexperienced a mixture of the 2.

Curiosity continues to astound, regardless of it now being the grizzled veteran of Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover, with its shiny suite of latest devices and aerial companion, will get a lot of the consideration nowadays, however Curiosity—on Mars since 2012—nonetheless has a lot to supply.

More: Perseverance Rover Captures Awesome Video of Helicopter Flying on Mars.