For apparently the primary time ever, the Curiosity rover on Mars has been noticed mid-drive from orbit, a speck of human presence on the in any other case barren and grayscale panorama.
The picture, taken on February 28, 2025 (Sol 4,466—a leap day right here on Earth!), exhibits Curiosity as a tiny darkish blot on the finish of a rover observe path that stretches about 1,050 ft (320 meters) throughout the Martian floor. It’s the orbital equal of a candid digicam, courtesy of the HiRISE (Excessive-Decision Imaging Science Experiment) digicam aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Whereas HiRISE has snapped Curiosity earlier than, this marks the primary time we’ve seen it mid-stride—erm, roll—caught within the strategy of finishing a 69-foot (21-meter) drive—a reality confirmed by matching timestamps with the rover’s command logs. Curiosity’s high pace? A blistering 0.1 mph (0.16 kilometers per hour). No, it received’t win any races—at the very least in comparison with autos on Earth—however the rover is regular, hardy, and unbothered by the absence of gasoline stations.
The tracks, crunched into the Martian terrain over 11 separate drives made since February 2, had been dug as Curiosity made its method from the planet’s Gediz Vallis channel towards its subsequent science goal: a rocky area which will function boxwork formations, presumably formed by groundwater within the planet’s historic previous.
The brand new picture exhibits the rover on the base of a steep slope—one it’s since ascended en path to that rocky location. How lengthy it can take Curiosity to reach depends upon the terrain forward, the rover’s navigation software program, and the frequently up to date plans from NASA engineers, who steer the rover and work with scientists to prioritize its targets.
Curiously, HiRISE often captures photographs with a strip of coloration down the middle, however Curiosity landed within the digicam’s black-and-white zone this time. So alas—no full-color Martian glamour shot—however nonetheless, it’s a stunner. A lonely speck, chugging up an alien slope, caught within the act from more than 150 miles (241 km) overhead.
