A 1.3 Billion-Pixel View of Mars

NASA released a 360-degree interactive panorama of Mars from Curiosity rover's point of view.

The image is actually a compilation of 900 photos — all of which Curiosity took while she was parked in an area called Rocknest in October and November of last year. Stitched together, the mosaic makes you feel like you're standing on the Red Planet with the rover. The full-resolution version is 1.3 billion pixels. To put that in perspective, a standard 5" x 7" photo is about 1,500 pixels wide and 2,100 pixels high.

There are two versions of Curiosity's panorama. The first, embedded below, has been white-balanced to show how the scene would look under Earth's lighting conditions. In other words, this is how the human eye would translate the terrain in what we perceive as a "normal" environment.

This second image maintains the original "raw" color. It's exactly what Curiosity saw with her camera.

Curiosity rover will soon enter a new phase of her life on Mars. After spending six months parked in the same area, the rover is about to embark on the 5-mile journey to Mount Sharp, the mission's primary destination.

1. Scoop Marks in Rocknest Sand

   The Curiosity rover took soil samples from an area called "Rocknest." The team chose this area because it lies in a flat part of the Gale Crater. This specific sample came from a drift of windblown dust. This particular photo shows the third (left) and fourth (right) scoops, each 1.6-inches wide.

   

2. Close-up View of the Windblown Sand From Rocknest

   The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) took these super-close views of Curiosity's sample in order to document the nature of the material. The rover delivered this material to her onboard Chemistry and Mineralogy Experiment (CheMin) and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM).

   

3. Curiosity's Workplace

   Last month, the Curiosity rover snapped this self-portrait white working in the Rocknest Wind Drift on the 84th Martian day (or sol). The rover worked at this location from Sol 56 (Oct. 2, 2012) to Sol 100 (Nov. 16, 2012). Curiosity's team selected Rocknest as the first scooping site because it has fine sand particles suited for scrubbing interior surfaces of the arm's sample-handling chambers.

   

4. Map of Curiosity's Journey on Mars, August-November, 2012

   Since her landing in August, Curiosity has driven a total of 1,703 feet.

   

5. Sample Platter of Martian Soil

   There are several different types of soils that make up the Red Planet's landscape. Curiosity isn't the first rover to investigate the signature reddish elemental composition. NASA's Viking, Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover missions also surveyed these soils.

   

Image courtesy of NASA