We here at Space Oddities couldn’t be happier with the news that the Curiosity rover landed safely on Mars. While we were a bit worried about the mission, it seems as if all went well earlier this morning.
Here are the first couple of snapshots taken on the red planet. What do you think?
NASA’s Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 6.
Caption and photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
- This is a version of one of the first images taken by a rear Hazard-Avoidance camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover.Part of the rim of Gale Crater, which is a feature the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, stretches from the top middle to the top right of the image. One of the rover’s wheels can be seen at bottom right. Photo and caption courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
- The image shows a fin on the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (the rover’s power source), the rear left wheel and a spring that released the dust cover on the Hazard-Avoidance camera. Caption and credit courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
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