Behold , the Curiosity roamer ’s first color image of Mars . It ’s beautiful . Dusty , but beautiful . And yet , it might not even be the second - most exciting photograph we ’ve received from Curiosity since it landed . Here ’s why .
Let me start by saying that this photo is obviously rattling ; there is , by definition , absolutely nothing “ meh ” about any photograph taken 100 of trillion of miles from Earth , so my apologies for come off as flippant . Here , take this hi - res , “ meh”-less version of the photo up topand we ’ll call it even .
The photo is notable for capturing some important milestones for Curiosity . Released just hours ago by NASA , this dust - caked view of the terrain north ofthe rover ’s landing sitewas acquired on the good afternoon of “ Sol 1 ” ( the first Martian day after landing ) , and is the first mental image to be photographed using MSL ’s Mars Hand Lens Imager ( MAHLI).This rover has a total of seventeen cameras onboard ; it ’s encouraging to see that its hazcams , its descent imager , and now MAHLI are all in workings order . It also offers us one of our first scene of the north bulwark and rim of Gale Crater , the 96 - km all-encompassing impact basinful where Curiosity touched down .
https://gizmodo.com/heres-exactly-where-mars-curiosity-landed-and-the-nasa-5932214
A brief discussion on color . Color is slap-up . Color gives a exposure a sense of tangibility , and its looker the oft - sought sense of immersion . When NASA release a picture of Mars last calendar month that they called“the next best thing to being there,”that exposure was in color .
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-calls-this-newly-released-photo-of-mars-the-next-5923721
But a photograph ’s colour system is never as important as its subject . With that in mind , this image may not even be Curiosity ’s second - most exciting photo of Mars ; because let ’s face it , the first photos of the rover ’s wheel and shadow , catch by the HazCam and transmitted to Earth in the early hours of August 6th , were nothing short of electrifying .
https://gizmodo.com/first-photos-of-mars-from-curiosity-5932042
But what image could possibly compare to Curiosity ’s very first picture — the images that told the world Curiosity is here , and it is secure ? This image right here :
This is Curiosity ’s very first aspect of Aeolis Mons , a.k.a . Mount Sharp , from inside Gale Crater . Sharp is Curiosity ’s primary scientific fair game . In other watchword : This is it . This is what we traveled over 350 million mile for .
The massive pitcher rests at the center of Gale Crater , its central heyday soaring 18,000 feet above the northwestern basin where Curiosity currently resides . Eighteen thousand feet . That ’s taller than California ’s Mt. Whitney ; higher , even , than dowery of Gale Crater ’s outer flange . image of the volcanic crater taken from orbit reveal that exposed layers of Mount Sharp contain unlike minerals bet on their tiptop . These layers of rock ‘n’ roll and ground , have it away as level , are like the pages of a book that , collectively , encompass billions of old age of Martian history . Individually , however , each layer put up a unique glance at a specific point in the planet ’s geological yesteryear .
In the week and months to come up , Curiosity will make its slow but steady journeying up the base of Gale ’s hammock , where minerals have it off to constitute in the presence of H2O have been identified . As it travels , it will sample level upon layer of stone and soil . In doing so , the rover will allow for us with a much better reason of the ancient surround in which these layers mold , how they form , and whether Mars is — or ever was — capable of supporting life .
This photograph is Curiosity ’s most thrilling yet because of what it represents : the rover ’s next conquering . In the distance , Sharp looms like the challenge that it is . It scream on Curiosity to play .
MarsMars roverNASAScienceSpace
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , skill , and culture news show in your inbox daily .
News from the hereafter , deliver to your present .
Please select your desire newssheet and submit your email to upgrade your inbox .
You May Also Like
