NASA’s Perseverance rover spotted by satellite image as it roams Jezero de Mars crater

Using its high-powered camera, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured something special on September 28 – an image of the agency’s Perseverance rover as it walked along the planet’s Jezero crater.

The white dot might not sound like much, but “Percy,” as the rover has been dubbed, has made history since it landed on Mars on February 18. After successfully collecting its first rock samples from a boulder on September 6, the rover headed towards an area known as “South Séítah”.

The area, described by NASA as “a series of ridges covered with sand dunes, boulders, and rock shards”, is where the rover is currently awaiting further instructions as Mars and Earth lie down. on either side of the Sun.

“Historical moment”: Perseverance rover collects first Martian rock sample

Known as the solar conjunction of Mars, the biennial occurrence can interfere with signals sent between planets. For this reason, NASA suspended the sending of orders to its missions to Mars on Saturday and will not resume them until October 16.

The image was captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, known as HiRise, which is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The rover’s main mission is to find signs of ancient microbial life by collecting information and samples from the surface of the Red Planet.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA’s Perseverance Martian Rover Spotted in Satellite Image