Curiosity Mars Rover Snaps 1.8 Billion-Pixel Panorama

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured its highest-resolution panorama yet of the Martian surface between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 2019. A version without the rover contains nearly 1.8 billion pixels; a version with the rover contains nearly 650 million pixels. Both versions are composed of more than 1,000 images that were carefully assembled over the following months.

The rover’s Mast Camera, or Mastcam, used its telephoto lens to produce the panorama and relied on its medium-angle lens to produce a lower-resolution panorama that includes the rover’s deck and robotic arm.

Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. A division of Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington and built the Curiosity rover.

For more information about Curiosity, visit mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl or www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html.

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Curiosity Mars Rover Snaps 1.8 Billion-Pixel Panorama (narrated video)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mar 4, 2020

NASA Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada guides this tour of the rover’s view of the Martian surface. This panorama showcases “Glen Torridon,” a region on the side of Mount Sharp that Curiosity is exploring. The panorama was taken between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 2019, when the Curiosity team was out for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since the rover would be sitting still with few other tasks to do while it waited for the team to return and provide its next commands, the rover had a rare chance to image its surroundings several days in a row without moving. Composed of more than 1,000 images and carefully assembled over the ensuing months, the larger version of this composite contains nearly 1.8 billion pixels of Martian landscape.

Explore more in this 360 video: youtu.be/0fva2pH41FM

For more about the mission, visit mars.nasa.gov/msl

Link to article.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Oh, Lordy, I do love space exploration so … it thrills me no end!