The Curiosity Mars rover covers a lot of ground for a robotic that solely strikes at a max velocity of .1 mph. A photograph snapped not too long ago by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter supplies a reasonably cool visualization of what the rover has been as much as up to now this yr, 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 based on , this snap “is believed to be the primary orbital picture of the rover mid-drive throughout the Crimson Planet.”
The picture was captured on February 28 by the orbiter’s HiRISE (Excessive-Decision Imaging Science Experiment) digicam, and exhibits Curiosity’s motion over 11 drives beginning firstly 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 predicted to succeed in its subsequent science vacation spot, which is residence to formations thought to have been created way back by groundwater, within the coming weeks.
