NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a selfie, made of 71 individual images, that shows a 20-feet rock formation named for Mont Mercou in France. NASA's Curiosity rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of "Mont Mercou," a rock formation that stands 20 feet tall. And while the photo is impressive on its own, it was actually taken to celebrate Curiosity’s 30th sample to date, after the rover drilled a hole at a nearby rock sample nicknamed ‘Nontron.’ According to CNN, Curiosity used a drill to capture a rock sample from the formation positioned to the left of the rover in the photo.It’s the 30th sample Curiosity has collected so far. A new Curiosity rover selfie from March 2021 shows the machine posing with a rock outcrop named "Mont Mercou." Curiosity has been in residence on the red planet since 2012. It's the 30th sample collected by Curiosity so far. "This area is at the transition between the 'clay-bearing unit' Curiosity is departing and the 'sulfate-bearing unit' that’s ahead on Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that the rover has been rolling up since 2014," they wrote. Look close enough to spot a new drill hole – my 30th sample to date.". Comprised of 71 different images captured by two different cameras, this panorama shows the rover in front of six meter tall rock outcrop 'Mont Mercou'. Blue is low and yellow is high. HiRISE captured layered deposits and a bright ice cap at the Martian north pole. This image shows seasonal flows in Valles Marineris on Mars, which are called recurring slope lineae, or RSL. The two largest quakes detected by NASA's InSight appear to have originated in a region of Mars called Cerberus Fossae. In a caption accompanying the image, JPL explained that Curiosity had stitched together different images to create the selfie in front of the 20-foot-tall rock outcrop. Visible to the left of the rover is a hole where its robotic drill sampled a rock named by the scientists as "Nontron" -- a village in southeastern France. This area is of particular interest to researchers because it represents a transition in the rocks from a clay-rich area to a sulfate-rich area -- and that might tell scientists what caused Mars to shift from a potentially habitable planet billions of years ago to the frozen desert it is today. By Mike Wehner @MikeWehner. NASA PREVIEWS FIRST MARS HELICOPTER FLIGHTS: EVERY STEP TAKEN IS 'UNCHARTED TERRITORY', "Wish you were here! Is that cookies and cream on Mars? Here is a panoramic selfie assembled with photos taken by the Mars Curiosity rover's Mastcam and MAHLI cameras on March 26 and March 16 2021. The rover marked its first anniversary the following year with another selfie taken from a closer viewpoint. • Read more: Best camera for astrophotography CNET reports that the “selfie” is actually a composite photo made from 60 images taken from the rover’s arm combined with 11 more images of its mast-mounted camera.. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. https://t.co/rc7rOWK87d pic.twitter.com/uOBOh3GHkP, Perseverance, which landed on February 18, is preparing the. No, it's just polar dunes dusted with ice and sand. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of Mont Mercou, a rock outcrop that stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall. From its perch high on a ridge, Opportunity recorded this 2016 image of a Martian dust devil twisting through the valley below. In early March, it rover began approaching a rock formation that scientists dubbed “Mont Mercou” by a mountain in France. The intrepid robot explorer has been rolling around Mars for a … Because the terrain where the crater formed is dusty, the fresh crater appears blue in the enhanced color of the image, due to removal of the reddish dust in that area. A dramatic, fresh impact crater dominates this image taken by the HiRISE camera in November 2013. These minerals suggest that Mars had a watery past. How did Curiosity snap that "selfie" without getting its robotic arm in the picture? The space agency released a photo combining 57 images taken on Jan. 19 at Namib Dune, where the rover is scooping sand for lab analysis. The latest image from the Curiosity rover looks as if it's snapped a selfie. The view looks back at the rover's tracks leading up the north-facing slope of Knudsen Ridge, which forms part of the southern edge of Marathon Valley. The changing mineralogy in these layers suggests a changing environment in early Mars, though all involve exposure to water billions of years ago. Although Mars isn't geologically active like Earth, surface features have been heavily shaped by wind. NASA's Mars rover Curiosity recently posed for a selfie in front of a beautiful Martian rock outcrop called "Mont Mercou," after probing the area for clues about the Red Planet's past. A thin layer of dust is visible on Curiosity , the result of … The panorama is made up of 60 images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the rover’s robotic arm on March 26, 2021, the 3,070th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. NASA released the panorama this week. In a caption accompanying the image, JPL explained that Curiosity had stitched together different images to create the selfie in front of the 20-foot-tall rock outcrop. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has snapped a dusty but cool selfie. Perseverance will search for signs of ancient microbial life in the dry lake bed and river delta of Jezero Crater. Curiosity has been steadily climbing the 3-mile-high Mount Sharp, located at the center of Gale Crater, since 2014. In Mars' thin atmosphere, light is not scattered much, so the shadows cast by the yardangs are sharp and dark. The Curiosity rover also recently looked up to capture an image of clouds on Mars, taken using its right navigation camera. "These were combined with 11 images taken by the Mastcam on the mast, or 'head,' of the rover on March 16, 2021, the 3,060th Martian day of the mission.". All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Nontron-related nicknames were chosen because Mars orbiters detected nontronite, a type of clay mineral, in the region. NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Takes Selfie With ‘Mont Mercou’ | NASA Cooled lava helped preserve a footprint of where dunes once moved across a southeastern region on Mars. HiRISE took this image of a kilometer-size crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars in June 2014. Instamodels have nothing on NASA’s Curiosity rover. These photos from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover showcase the incredible surface of the red planet, and selfies of the rovers themselves. This dark mound, called Ireson Hill, is on the Murray formation on lower Mount Sharp, near a location where NASA's Curiosity rover examined a linear sand dune in February 2017. In a caption accompanying the image, JPL explained that Curiosity had stitched together different images to create the selfie in front of the 20-foot-tall rock outcrop. In a tweet, the Curiosity team explained the image was captured near the impressive rock formation named "Mont Mercou" after a mountain in France's southern region. Ingenuity Mars helicopter prepares for the first flight on another planet, Mars rovers of the past paved the way for NASA's newest explorer Perseverance, Curiosity rover shares new selfie, climbs steep hill on Mars, Sign up and explore the universe with weekly news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. NASA’s Curiosity rover recently set a record for the steepest hill it’s ever climbed, and to commemorate the achievement, the rover took a selfie — naturally. NASA rocket passes key test for Artemis mission. NASA's shiny new Perseverance rover has been stealing the spotlight lately, but Curiosity is still on Mars, too. Orbiters circling Mars have detected a clay mineral called nontronite, which is found close to the actual Nontron on Earth, within this area on Mars. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. And just beyond that are a multitude of rounded buttes, all high in sulfate minerals. The panorama is made up of 60 images from the MAHLI camera on the rover’s robotic arm along with 11 images from the Mastcam on the mast, or "head," of the rover. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of Mont Mercou, a rock outcrop that stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall. The two rovers, located about 2,300 miles apart on Mars, are exploring very different areas. Curiosity landed on Mars' surface on Aug. 6, 2012, at 1:32 a.m. "Scientists have long thought this transition might reveal what happened to Mars as it became the desert planet we see today," added JPL. By Macrina Cooper-White. It was taken on July 20, 1976, by the Viking 1 lander shortly after it touched down on the planet. The selfie, taken earlier in the month, was posted alongside an additional pair of three-dimensional and panoramic shots of the Martian landscape. This selfie was taken in front of 'Mont Mercou,' a rock formation that’s 20ft (6m) tall," JPL posted, "It's made up of 60 images from my MAHLI camera and 11 images from my Mastcam. All rights reserved. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. The panorama is made up of 60 images from the MAHLI camera on the rover’s robotic arm along with 11 images from the Mastcam on the mast, or “head,” of the rover. This image, combining data from two instruments aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars. This includes more than 1,000 images and 1.8 billion pixels. The selfie shows the rover alongside a rock formation dubbed ‘Mont Mercou’, a nickname taken from a mountain in France. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. InSight's seismometer recorded a "marsquake" for the first time in April 2019. The blue and white clouds are water vapor. Nili Patera is a region on Mars in which dunes and ripples are moving rapidly. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Quick! Tags: NASA, Mars, outer space * * * * The rover captured the photo in front of a rocky outcrop measuring around 20 feet tall, which the Curiosity … That's what curious folks have been asking about the amazing self-portrait the rover recently took to mark its first anniversary on the Red Planet. Here's How NASA's Curiosity Rover Took That 'Selfie' Without Getting Its Arm In The Picture. Legal Statement. The crater shows frost on all its south-facing slopes in late winter as Mars is heading into spring. ET. Chasma Boreale is about the length of the United States' famous Grand Canyon and up to 1.2 miles deep. The selfie shows Curiosity in front of Mont Mercou, and I find it very amusing that it looks like a tourist photo. Curiosity used its drill to capture a sample of rock near the formation, which the scientists dubbed Nontron. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover may have been in service since 2011, but it’s still exploring and just transmitted a selfie with Mont Mercou in the background. In 2013, the Curiosity rover returned a breathtaking self-portrait that included both the surface underneath the rover and the dust-filled sky. This composite image, looking toward the higher regions of Mount Sharp, was taken in September 2015 by NASA's Curiosity rover. March 30th, 2021 at 5:57 PM. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Just beyond is an undulating plain rich in clay minerals. "What you see here aren't just any clouds, they're Martian clouds. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie at a location nicknamed "Mary Anning" after a 19th century English paleontologist. Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world. These 2001 images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance when haze raised by duststorm activity in the south became globally distributed. The crater spans approximately 100 feet and is surrounded by a large, rayed blast zone. Legal Statement. Curiosity’s drill powderized the sample before trickling it into instruments inside the rover so the science team could get a better understanding of the rock’s composition and what clues it might offer about Mars’ past. "The panorama is … These details could provide a window into the Martian past. The Curiosity Rover has been sending back images for nearly a decade. Mars is known to have planet-encircling dust storms. These 60 images were combined with 11 images taken by Curiosity… NASA's Curiosity rover taking a selfie on Mars. This image was taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter. The ice-rich polar cap is 621 miles across, and the dark bands in are deep troughs. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. HOUSTON -- Even NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is into selfies. Take a moment out of your day to look at the sky of another world," read a tweet from the Curiosity account. Stop scrolling.What you see here aren't just any clouds, they're Martian clouds. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Updated 2059 GMT (0459 HKT) March 30, 2021. This photo of a preserved river channel on Mars was taken by an orbiting satellite, with color overlaid to show different elevations. The Mont Mercou selfie is the latest in a long line of glorious Mars views as the veteran rover continues its mission of exploration. The selfie is composed of 60 images taken by Curiosity's Hand Lens Imager on March 26 - the 3,070th day of the mission. Earlier this month on March 16 and 26, Curiosity captured 60 images using its robotic arm and 11 images with its Mastcam of a rock formation called "Mont Mercou." You can find her on Twitter at @JuliaElenaMusto. Scientists previously spotted signs of tectonic activity here, including landslides. Market data provided by Factset. Curiosity used its drill to turn the sample into powder, which was then fed into some of the rover's instruments.