14 DAY TRIAL // NASA is not about to let its newest rover out of its sight. Using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists at the agency have recently imaged the tracks the $2.5 billion robot left behind after its first drives.
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has driven around 109 meters (358 feet) on the surface of the Red Planet, roughly the length of a football field. The MRO, in orbit since 2006, has been used extensively to monitor the Mini Cooper-size robot.
As visible above, the capabilities of HiRISE are absolutely amazing. The orbiter carrying it moves a couple of hundred miles above the Martian surface, and yet it's still able to make up details as fine as a wheel track on the surface.
Curiosity landed on Mars on August 6, for a two-year primary mission inside Gale Crater, Universe Today reports.