NASA's Mars orbiter captures 1st photo of Curiosity and its winding tracks: Take a look
Though it has been scouring the Martian surface for more than a decade, NASA's Curiosity rover has never been imaged from above within the planet's atmosphere – until now.
Far from being camera shy, Curiosity has been the subject of countless selfies and images taken from space. But for the first time, a NASA spacecraft recently captured a photo of the robotic rover from the vantage of Mars' own orbit.
The U.S. space agency released the image April 24, which the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped earlier this year. At the time, Curiosity was in the middle of a slow trek across the surface during its ongoing hunt for microbial life.
The reconnaissance orbiter, which has been circling Mars from above since 2006, caught a glimpse of Curiosity on Feb. 28, along with the tracks the rover was leaving behind as it ascended a steep slope.
The image, captured with the orbiter's HiRISE camera (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment,) shows Curiosity as a dark speck with its tracks trailing behind it. The tracks, spanning about 1,050 feet, are likely to linger for months before wind erases them, according to NASA.
The tracks lead to the base of a steep slope that the rover has since ascended on the way to its new destination: a region with potential boxwork formations, possibly made by groundwater billions of years ago.
Curiosity is one of two rovers managed from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California that has spent years exploring the Mars surface for signs that the planet was once habitable.
Scientists believe the geology of Mars may hold valuable clues about past ancient life, and so the robotic vehicles, controlled remotely from Earth, have slowly navigated the rocky terrain to scoop up and collect intriguing samples.
The Curiosity rover began its voyage to Mars in November 2011 during a launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The rover landed in August 2012 in the Gale Crater on the boundary between Mars' cratered southern highlands and its smooth, northern plains. While exploring the crater, believed to have formed 3.7 billion years ago, Curiosity has collected 42 powderized rock samples with the drill on the end of its robotic arm.
The Curiosity rover's primary destination is Mount Sharp, which rises from the floor of the crater.
Perseverance then launched from the same location in July 2020, landing in February 2021 in the Jezero Crater, which scientists believe formed 3.9 billion years ago from a massive impact. The rover recently summitted the steep Jezero crater to begin the next leg of its journey exploring the crater's rim.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA reveals 1st photo of Curiosity rover seen from Mars' orbit
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