Monday, November 5, 2012

Mars Rover Curiosity's self portrait

This is the picture of the millennium, so far at least.


Yes, that's from Mars:
This image is composed of a mosaic of 55 high-resolution photos. Apart from providing a great portrait of our beloved robotic emissary on Mars, these photos provide the MSL team with an invaluable means of keeping track of dust buildup and wheel tread wear. Although Curiosity is still relatively shiny and new, as the years march on, we'll likely see marked changes in its appearance. If its still-functioning rover cousin Opportunity is anything to go by, Curiosity will be coated in a rusty orange coat in no time at all.
It's times like this that I feel like chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So we've got a nuclear powered robot on Mars with a laser on it's head... That takes pictures like a teenager with a camera phone. I did not expect this.

libertyman said...

Hey wait a minute, whose footprints are those to the left of the picture?

There must have been a stowaway on board!

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Had to be a stowaway. The robot isn't holding the camera. As we can see

RabidAlien said...

While I salute the fine folks who made the rover, and the excellent job done by those monitoring and analyzing the data sent back, I'm still waiting for the Picture of the Millennium....the photo of the Obummers leaving the White House. Preferably in handcuffs. But I'll take leaving.

Dave H said...

It's no stowaway. They're re-using the sets where they filmed the fake Moon landings. Those footprints were left over from the Apollo 17 mission.

Ritchie said...

So, who's pulling security for our Ambassador to Mars?