The Curiosity Mars rover covers lots of floor for a robotic that solely strikes at a max pace of .1 mph. A photograph snapped not too long ago by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter gives a fairly cool visualization of what the rover has been as much as to date this 12 months, exhibiting the tracks Curiosity left behind because it journeyed from its earlier science goal — an space referred to as the Gediz Vallis channel — to its subsequent vacation spot. The rover itself is only a tiny speck on the entrance of the roughly 1,050-foot-long path, and in response to , this snap “is believed to be the primary orbital picture of the rover mid-drive throughout the Pink Planet.”
The picture was captured on February 28 by the orbiter’s HiRISE (Excessive-Decision Imaging Science Experiment) digital camera, and exhibits Curiosity’s motion over 11 drives beginning initially of that month. Whereas just a few weeks may appear to be a very long time for tire tracks to stay round within the filth, that is regular for Mars. The tracks are “[l]ikely to final for months earlier than being erased by wind,” NASA says. Curiosity is anticipated to achieve its subsequent science vacation spot, which is dwelling to formations thought to have been created way back by groundwater, within the coming weeks.
