Anorak

Anorak News | ‘It’s a wheel, it’s a wheel!’ – photos of Curiosity’s mission to Mars

‘It’s a wheel, it’s a wheel!’ – photos of Curiosity’s mission to Mars

by | 6th, August 2012

NASA’S mission to Mars is go! The mega-millions Curiosity rover is now roving Mars. The first photo beamed back is snapshot of the rover’s shadow. We live in the age of celebrity and self-promotion. You might laugh as the photo is spotted and heralded by the line that will reverberate down generations: “It’s a wheel, it’s a wheel!”

Mars Curiosity

Image 19 of 19

In this photo released by NASA's JPL, this is one of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT ). It was taken with a "fisheye" wide-angle lens on the left "eye" of a stereo pair of Hazard-Avoidance cameras on the left-rear side of the rover. The image is one-half of full resolution. The clear dust cover that protected the camera during landing has been sprung open. Part of the spring that released the dust cover can be seen at the bottom right, near the rover's wheel. On the top left, part of the rover's power supply is visible. Some dust appears on the lens even with the dust cover off. The cameras are looking directly into the sun, so the top of the image is saturated. The lines across the top are an artifact called "blooming" that occurs in the camera's detector because of the saturation. As planned, the rover's early engineering images are lower resolution. Larger color images from other cameras are expected later in the week when the rover's mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

 



Posted: 6th, August 2012 | In: Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink