Above : June 22 , 2022
NASA ’ s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama near a location nicknamed “ Sierra Maigualida ” on May 22 , 2022 , the 3,481st Martian day , or sol , of the mission . Both the floor of Gale Crater and upper Mount Sharp are seen through a dusty atmospheric haze . Scientists interpret the curving and overlapping layers in the bedrock around the rover as evidence of cross-bedding , which occurs when layers are deposited from windblown sediment . The panorama is made up of 133 individual images captured by Curiosity ’ s Mast Camera , or Mastcam .
Curiosity was built by NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California , which leads the mission on behalf of NASA ’ s Science Mission Directorate in Washington . Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam .
For more about Curiosity , visit https :// mars . nasa . gov / msl / home / or https :// www . nasa . gov / mission _ pages / msl / index . html .
Credit : NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Above : July 21 , 2021
NASA ' s Perseverance Mars rover looks back toward its tracks on July 1 , 2021 ( the 130th sol , or Martian day , of its mission ), after driving autonomously 358 feet ( 109 meters ) – its longest autonomous drive to date . Taken by one of the rover ' s Navigation Cameras , the image has been processed to enhance the contrast . Perseverance has been exploring the floor of Jezero Crater since it landed on Feb . 18 , 2021 .
A key objective for Perseverance ' s mission on Mars is , including the search for signs of ancient microbial life . The rover will characterize the planet ' s geology and past climate , pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet , and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith ( broken rock and dust ).
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA ' s Moon to Mars exploration approach , which includes missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet .
Subsequent NASA missions , in cooperation with ESA ( European Space Agency ), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis . NASA ' s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA . For more about Curiosity , visit https :// mars . nasa . gov / msl / home / or https :// www . nasa . gov / mission _ pages / msl / index . html . Credit : NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE 53