The Curiosity rover has been on the surface of Mars since August 6, 2012 and continues to analyze objects and beam back useful information to NASA. But it's hard to imagine the scale of the task unless you can visualize the job Curiosity is undertaking. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) just gave us a pretty good idea, though.
A new image captured by the MRO shows the surface of Mars where Curiosity is currently hard at work climbing the lower section of Mount Sharp. NASA exaggerated the color in the image as a way of highlighting the different materials present in the surface, but it also highlights Curiosity as a tiny blue rectangle.
You can see the zoomed image above, and full image below:
The image was captured on June 5 using the High resolution Imagine Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for NASA. What it shows is just how tiny the car-sized Curiosity rover is on the landscape and why it is so important for it to be able to pick out interesting objects as it travels.
In that regard, Curiosity recently received an upgrade allowing it to intelligently pick its own targets.
Related
- NASA Observes Fresh Damage to Curiosity Rover's WheelNASA Observes Fresh Damage to Curiosity Rover's Wheel
When Curiosity initially went to work on Mars it was up to NASA to direct it what to analyze using the ChemCam. When communication wasn't possible, Curiosity would randomly analyze objects which resulted in a 24 percent success rate. Last year, NASA installed the Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) software on to the rover allowing it to use AI to intelligently scan the area and locate high value targets to analyze. With AEGIS, the success rate has now increased to 94 percent!
So while the tiny speck that is Curiosity continues its journey across the vast landscape of Mars, know that it is doing so more efficiently than ever.
Facebook is testing a feature called "profile picture guard," which prevents anyone from stealing your photo.
NASA has revealed a futuristic Mars 2020 rover concept at the Kennedy Space Center.
The question is, do you keep the Calvin Dash button out to impress guests, or in your underwear drawer where it'll be most useful?
I love Snapchat, but I’d also be the first to admit the user interface design is…poor. If you’re using Snapchat for the first time and just feel lost, here are the basics.
Relax Mars Orbiter Snaps Fresh Photo of Curiosity Exploring Mars stories
The landing, which took place at Cape Canaveral over the weekend, is the first SpaceX mission to reuse a Dragon cargo vessel.
Instead of ISS, Aldrin wants a base on the Moon and "cyclers" transporting cargo and people that can be scaled up for Mars journeys.
The experimental military spacecraft performed over 700 experiments while in orbit, all of which are classified.
NASA astronauts will chat with executives from Amazon and Hollywood about the future of science and entertainment.
Marshall offers a classic look and the option of still using a headphone jack if you manage to burn through all that battery life.
Watch the engine that could transport astronauts to Mars being test fired.
India's Chandrayaan-1 went missing eight years ago after contact was lost several months after it went into service.
Each project will receive funding to support development over the next 2 years before hopefully being ready for use in missions.
Once perfected, Raven will allow satellites to be repaired autonomously.
The world's favorite astrophysicist stopped by our offices for the latest installment of The Convo.
Curiosity is what fuels the search for new ideas and insights to fuel growth of every sort.
We chatted with Stephen Petranek, author of How We'll Live on Mars.
If you think Google Maps is the best navigation app for Android, you haven't seen the competition.
Don't like Slack's constant pinging? Twist might be a viable alternative.
It costs nothing to take advantage of the limitless opportunities online.
The Atlas printer is designed to churn out parts up to one meter long, including entire engine blocks for automobiles.
If you want to get started with investing, you need to start reading these books.
Smart people are more prone to silly mistakes because of blind spots in how they use logic.
GE reveals plans for the 'world's largest' 3D printer that uses metal powders.
The new Snap Map has a 'ghost mode' that lets you browse a map of your friends' locations without sharing your own.
From Stanford to Carnegie Mellon, if you dream of working in tech, going to one of these schools could increase your chances.
Apple is waging war on leaks when it should be making better design choices.
Instagram's new tool could make hidden ads more obvious, but will influencers actually use it?