NASA's Curiosity rover landed in the Martian crater known as Gale Crater, which is approximately the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. A green dot shows where the rover landed, well within its targeted landing ellipse, outlined in blue.
This oblique view of Gale, and Mount Sharp in the center, is derived from a combination of elevation and imaging data from three Mars orbiters. The view is looking toward the southeast. Mount Sharp rises about 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) above the floor of Gale Crater.
The image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery. There is no vertical exaggeration in the image.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) | Mars Express, Mars Express (MEX), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Viking |
Instrument Host | Curiosity Rover | Mars Express, Mars Express Orbiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Viking Orbiter |
Host Type | Rover | Orbiter |
Instrument | Context Camera (CTX) | High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Color, Crater | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2012-08-14 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16058 | |
Identifier | PIA16058 |