Mars Curiosity Rover Makes Farthest Drive Yet

The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover is carried at an angle when the rover’s arm is stowed for driving. Still, the camera is able to record views of the terrain Curiosity is crossing in Gale Crater, and rotating the image 150 degrees provides this right-side-up scene. The scene is toward the south, including a portion of Mount Sharp and a band of dark dunes in front of the mountain. It was taken on the 140th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars, shortly after Curiosity finished a 329.1-foot (100.3-meter) drive on that sol. The drive was twice as long as any previous sol’s drive by Curiosity.

The Rover is on a five mile trek to the base of Mount Sharp. This is the longest drive ever of any rover on the surface of Mars. The car sized rover is the most powerful instrument ever placed on the surface. As it travels it continues to use its instruments to study and understand Mars.

Read more posts about Mars