14 DAY TRIAL // Just yesterday, NASA released a photo of the Curiosity rover frolicking on Mars. The coolest thing about this picture? As it turns out, it's actually a selfie. That's right, the Curiosity rover took this photo itself and then beamed it back to Earth.
Mission scientists at NASA say this latest self-portrait staring the rover combines dozens of images that Curiosity took this past October 6, its 1,126th Martian day.
“The scene combines dozens of images taken during the 1,126th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (October 6, 2015, PDT), by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the rover's robotic arm,” reads the pic's description.
The rover's robotic arm isn't included in this selfie, since it was the one holding the camera. However, its shadow is clearly distinguishable on the ground.
When Curiosity posed for this selfie, it was hanging about the Stimson geological unit, in turn one of the layers of the Red Planet's so-called Mount Sharp.
The rover reached the base of Mount Sharp about a year ago. It's since been working its way up its slopes, collecting and analyzing samples as it goes.
Based on the images and the data Curiosity has so far delivered, researchers suspect at least the lower layers of Mount Sharp comprise sedimentary material that was deposited in the area by an ancient lake. This lake existed on Mars between 3.8 to 3.3 billion years ago.
