High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera
Nov 12th, 2012 | By Leandro | Category: Aerospace, Featured Articles, NASAFour scoop scars can be seen in the regolith in front of the rover.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
The base of Gale Crater’s 3-mile-high (5-kilometer) sedimentary mountain, Mount Sharp, rises on the right side of the frame. Mountains in the background to the left are the northern wall of Gale Crater. The Martian landscape appears inverted within the round, reflective ChemCam instrument at the top of the rover’s mast.
Self-portraits like this one document the state of the rover and allow mission engineers to track changes over time, such as dust accumulation and wheel wear. Due to its location on the end of the robotic arm, only MAHLI (among the rover’s 17 cameras) is able to image some parts of the craft, including the port-side wheels.
This high-resolution mosaic is a more detailed version of the low-resolution version created with thumbnail images, at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16238.html .