Photos: Images of Mars from NASA’s Curiosity rover

Posted Aug 09, 2012

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The Curiosity rover has returned another postcard from Mars — the first 360-degree color view from Gale Crater. Since landing Sunday night, NASA’s six-wheel rover has been sending home a trickle of pictures, beginning with grainy, black-and-white photos. It also beamed back a low-quality video showing the last few minutes of its descent to the surface. It recently raised its mast containing high-resolution and navigation cameras that have given scientists a better view of the landing site. Curiosity is on a two-year mission to study whether Gale ever had conditions favorable for microbial life.

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This NASA image obtained August 9, 2012 shows the first two full-resolution images of the Martian surface on August 8, 2012 from the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover, which are located on the rover's "head" or mast. The rim of Gale Crater can be seen in the distance beyond the pebbly ground. The topography of the rim is very mountainous due to erosion. The ground seen in the middle shows low-relief scarps and plains. The foreground shows two distinct zones of excavation likely carved out by blasts from the rover's descent stage thrusters. AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech "
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Michael Malin, principal investigator, Mars Descent Imager on MSL, Malin Space Science Systems looks at a data set of the the first 360-degree panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, as it is processed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., early morning Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. The images were taken late Aug. 8 PDT (Aug. 9 EDT) by the 34-millimeter Mast Camera. This panorama mosaic was made of 130 images of 144 by 144 pixels each. Selected full frames from this panorama, which are 1,200 by 1,200 pixels each, are expected to be transmitted to Earth later. The images in this panorama were brightened in the processing. Mars only receives half the sunlight Earth does and this image was taken in the late Martian afternoon. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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This NASA image released August 9, 2012 shows first 360-degree panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site taken by NASA's Curiosity rover on August 8, 2012. The panorama was made from thumbnail versions of images taken by the Mast Camera. Scientists will be taking a closer look at several splotches in the foreground that appear gray. These areas show the effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground. What appeared as a dark strip of dunes in previous, black-and-white pictures from Curiosity can also be seen along the top of this mosaic, but the color images also reveal additional shades of reddish brown around the dunes, likely indicating different textures or materials. AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech /MSSS
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Michael Malin, principal investigator, MastCamera on MSL, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, left, talks next to Dawn Sumner, MSL science team member, University of Calif., Davis, and Andy Mishkin, Integratedplanning and execution team chief, JPL, about a low-resolution panoramic image of Mars, background, during an update news conference on Curiosity Mars Rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Grant Hindsley)
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This Picasso-like self portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover, released by NASA August 8, 2012, was taken by its Navigation cameras, located on the now-upright mast. The camera snapped pictures 360-degrees around the rover, while pointing down at the rover deck, up and straight ahead. Those images are shown here in a polar projection. Most of the tiles are thumbnails, or small copies of the full-resolution images that have not been sent back to Earth yet. REUTERS/NASA/JPL/Handout
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This 360-degree, full-resolution panorama from NASA's Curiosity rover, released by NASA August 9, 2012, shows the area all around the rover within Gale Crater on Mars. The rover's deck is to the left and far right. The rover's "head" or mast, where the Navigation cameras that took this picture are located, casts a shadow seen near the center. The rim of Gale Crater is to the left, and the base of Mount Sharp is to the center-right.REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
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Jordan Evans, Engineering Development and Operations Manager, Mars Science Laboratory Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, wonders at rover's high resolution self-portrait, looking down at its deck from above, being downloaded at the Surface Mission Support Area, SMSA NASA's JPL in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. The images from Curiosity's just-activated navigation cameras, or Navcams, include this Picasso-like self portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover taken by its Navigation cameras, located on the now-upright mast. The camera snapped pictures 360-degrees around the rover, while pointing down at the rover deck, up and straight ahead. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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This NASA image released August 9, 2012 shows part of the deck of NASA's Curiosity rover taken from one of the rover's Navigation cameras looking toward the back left of the rover on August 7 PDT (August 8 EDT). On the left of this image, part of the rover's power supply is visible. To the right of the power supply can be seen the pointy low-gain antenna and side of the paddle-shaped high-gain antenna for communications directly to Earth. The rim of Gale Crater is the lighter colored band across the horizon. The effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground can be seen on the right side of the image, next to the rover. AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Justin Maki, Mars Science Laboratory Imaging Scientist, JPL, left, and Jordan Evans Engineering Development and Operations Manager, MSL JPL, look at image sets from NASA's Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as they continuing to develop the story of Curiosity's landing on Mars at the Surface Mission Support Area, SMSA NASA's JPL in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, August 9, 2012. The images from Curiosity's just-activated navigation cameras, or Navcams. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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This image provided by NASA Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, shows the first 360-degree color panorama taken on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover. The panorama was stitched together using thumbnail images taken by the rover's mast camera. Curiosity landed in Gale Crater on Mars on August 5, 2012 to begin a two-year mission. (AP Photo/NASA)
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Dawn Sumner, Mars Science Laboratory science team member, University of California - Davis, talks about what area the Curiosity Mars Rover landed on during a news conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Grant Hindsley)
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This NASA image obtained August 9, 2012 shows a close-up view of the zones where the soil at Curiosity's landing site was blown away by the thrusters on the rover's descent stage on Mars. The excavation of the soil reveals probable bedrock outcrop. This is important because it shows the shallow depth of the soil in this area. The area surrounding the zones of excavation shows abundant small rocks that may form a pavement-like layer above harder bedrock. This full-resolution image was taken by the rover's Navigation camera. AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech
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A 360-degree panorama in color of Gale Crater Vista, taken by NASA's Curiosity rover is displayed at the Malin Space Science Systems, MSSS, control room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., early morning Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. Scientists will be taking a closer look at several splotches in the foreground that appear gray. These areas show the effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground. What appeared as a dark strip of dunes in previous, black-and-white pictures from Curiosity can also be seen along the top of this mosaic, but the color images also reveal additional shades of reddish brown around the dunes, likely indicating different textures or materials. MSSS built and operates the orbiter's Context Camera. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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This NASA image obtained August 9, 2012 shows the first image taken by the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover on August 8, 2012. It shows the shadow of the rover's now-upright mast in the center, and the arm's shadow at left. The arm itself can be seen in the foreground.The navigation camera is used to help find the sun -- information that is needed for locating, and communicating, with Earth. After the camera pointed at the sun, it turned in the opposite direction and took this picture. The position of the shadow helps confirm the sun's location. The "augmented reality" or AR tag seen in the foreground can be used in the future with smart phones to obtain more information about the mission. AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech
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This NASA image released August 9, 2012 shows the deck of NASA's Curiosity rover from the rover's Navigation cameras. The back of the rover can be seen at the top left of the image, and two of the rover's right side wheels can be seen on the left. Part of the pointy rim of Gale Crater forms the lighter color strip in the background. Bits of gravel, about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) in size, are visible on the deck of the rover. This mosaic is made of eight images, each of 1,024 by 1,024 pixels, taken late at night on August 7 PDT (early morning August 8 EDT). It uses an average of the Navcam positions to synthesize the point of view of a single camera, with a field of view of 120 degrees. Seams between the images have been minimized, but a few are still visible. The wide field of view introduces some distortion at the edges of the mosaic.The "augmented reality" or AR tag seen in the middle of the image can be used in the future with smart phones to obtain more information about the mission.AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory logo is seen on a full-resolution image of the Martian surface from the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover, which are located on the rover's "head" or mast, are downloaded at the Surface Mission Support Area, SMSA at NASA's JPL in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. The rim of Gale Crater can be seen in the distance beyond the pebbly ground. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Maher Hanna, Manager, Instrument and Science Data System Operations Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory works on incoming image data sets from NASA's Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as they continuing to develop Curiosity's landing on Mars at the Surface Mission Support Area, SMSA control room at NASA's JPL in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. The images are taken by Curiosity's just activated navigation cameras, or Navcams. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Doug Ellison, right, visualization producer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks about what the public can explore on Eyes of the Solar System, an interactive simulation of the Curiosity Mars Rover's travels, next to other Mars Science Laboratory scientists during an update news conference on Curiosity Mars Rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Grant Hindsley)