Rover Curiosity sends back a beautiful “postcard” from Mars

NASA published a A gorgeous panoramic image of a morning and afternoon on Mars captured by the cameras of the Curiosity rover, which landed in Gale Crater.154 km, in August 2012, in order to determine whether the area could support Earth-like life.

According to the US space agency on Tuesday, the postcard is an artistic interpretation of the landscape, adding color to two black and white panoramic images taken on April 8 at 09:20 and 15:40 (Martian local time). It’s called Marker Band Valley.

“Anyone who’s been to a national park knows that the landscape looks different in the morning than it does in the afternoon,” said Doug Ellison, Curiosity’s mission engineer, who planned and processed the images.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The panoramas were taken during the Martian winter, a period when there is less dust in the air, making the Red Planet’s shadows sharper and deeper.

Notably, the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), shown as a white circle in the lower right of the image, is helping scientists learn how to protect the first astronauts sent to Mars from radiation on the planet’s surface.

(taken from RT in Spanish)

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