NASA's Curiosity Rover Marks 5,000th Day on Mars With Composite Postcard
The Mars Curiosity rover combined two navigation-camera panoramas taken days apart to create an image marking a mission milestone, NASA said.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has produced a composite panorama commemorating its 5,000th day on the Martian surface, the space agency said in a release published on its Photojournal site.
According to NASA, the image was created while the rover was parked at a sand ridge nicknamed "Chocolatal." Curiosity used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas at two different times of day.
NASA said the first panorama was taken on Aug. 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. local Mars time, while the second was captured on Sep. 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time.
The two images, taken under differing lighting conditions, were combined to mark the rover's 5,000th sol, or Martian day, of operations, according to the agency.
Curiosity has been exploring the Martian surface since its landing, using its instruments to study the planet's geology and search for evidence of past habitability. NASA did not provide further details in the excerpt regarding the rover's current location or ongoing research activities at the site.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Curiosity mission as part of the agency's broader Mars Exploration Program.
Sources
- Curiosity Postcard Celebrates Rover’s 5,000th Day on Mars — NASA Breaking News
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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