The rock is located on the rover's way to an outcrop called Glenelg

Oct 2, 2012 14:34 GMT  ·  By
This amazing image of a Martian rock called Bathurst Inlet was collected by the MAHLI instrument on Curiosity's robotic arm
   This amazing image of a Martian rock called Bathurst Inlet was collected by the MAHLI instrument on Curiosity's robotic arm

Officials at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity, have just released a new image of Bathurst Inlet, a rock located on the robot's path to its first major science target.

The outcrop, called Glenelg, is located around 400 meters (1,300 feet) away from Bradbury Landing, where the rover first touched the Martian surface. As it's driving towards this landscape feature, the robot is making stops wherever experts find something interesting, and this rock is such an objective.

The photo was collected on September 30 (sol 54), by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) instrument on Curiosity's robotic arm. The camera was brought within 27 centimeters (10.5 inches) of the rock's surface, and captured eight separate views, which were then combined in the one above.

MAHLI is capable of achieving a resolution of 105 microns per pixel. The entire image is around 16 by 12 centimeters (6.5 by 5 inches).