NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has taken a remarkable photo of NASA’s Curiosity rover in motion across the Martian surface. The image, captured by MRO’s High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, shows the rover making tracks across Gale Crater and spans approximately 1,050 feet.
The photo is significant as it marks the first time an orbital image has been taken of the rover in motion. Curiosity had previously been stationary during previous encounters with MRO. The rover’s speed can be seen in the tracks, which cover about 11 drives starting on February 2 at a top speed of 0.1 mph.
The image provides insight into the Martian environment and the rover’s journey to its next science stop, where it aims to explore potential boxwork formations made by ancient groundwater billions of years ago. The findings from Curiosity have shown that Gale Crater was once a habitable environment, with evidence of a long-lived lake-and-stream system that could support life.
MRO has been operating since 2006 and continues to monitor the Martian surface, including the movements of robots like Curiosity and its younger cousin Perseverance. The historic photo offers a rare glimpse into the rover’s activities on Mars and highlights MRO’s ongoing efforts to search for signs of past water activity on the Red Planet.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/mars-orbiter-snaps-1st-image-of-curiosity-rover-driving-on-the-red-planet-photo