This morning, we’re taking a look at some of the first photos sent back from NASA’s latest mission to Mars, and they’re breathtaking.
Even though they’re just black-and-white snaps showing little more than the rover’s wheels and a low-angle view of the Mars desert at sunset, they’re thrilling to those of us who get unreasonably excited about space travel and interplanetary exploration.
Larger color images from other cameras are expected later in the week, when the rover’s mast, which carries high-resolution cameras, will be deployed.
Due to the high levels of curiosity around Curiosity, the NASA gallery has been up and down a bit this morning, so we’re sharing some of the images from the planet’s surface with you here. To see the full 40-slide gallery with smaller images, you can head over to NASA.gov.
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mars 1
Curiosity's parachute-enabled descent, as seen from the Mars Orbiter.
Curiosity's parachute-enabled descent, as seen from the Mars Orbiter.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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mars 2
Rear view.
Rear view.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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mars 3
The green diamond shows where the rover landed, around 2 kilometers away from its target.
The green diamond shows where the rover landed, around 2 kilometers away from its target.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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mars 4
Curiosity landing in progress, as seen from the Orbiter.
Curiosity landing in progress, as seen from the Orbiter.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Mars Curiosity rover landing team
A joyful NASA team celebrates a successful and historic landing on Mars.
A joyful NASA team celebrates a successful and historic landing on Mars.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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mars-rover
An evening view of Mars’ surface as seen from one of Curiosity’s hazard-avoidance cameras.
An evening view of Mars’ surface as seen from one of Curiosity’s hazard-avoidance cameras.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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mars
The view on Curiosity’s left, where the camera is pointed straight into the sun.
The view on Curiosity’s left, where the camera is pointed straight into the sun.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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All images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.
