Insight Lander captures the sunrises and sunsets on Mars | Space



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Small bright semicircle at the horizon of the sun almost lying, blue sky twilight.

Enlarge image This corrected version of the colors shows more precisely the image as the human eye would see it. You can compare "raw" images and color-corrected images here. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech

The NASA InSight lander used the camera located at the end of his robotic arm to take a picture of this sunset on Mars, April 25, 2019. It was taken around 18:30. Mars local time.

Because it is much farther from Mars than from Earth, the sun only appears about two-thirds of its size, seen from our planet.

Insight took the photos below on April 24th and 25th. At the local time of March. The photos were taken from 5:30, then again around 18:30. As a bonus, a camera located under the landing gear deck also captured drifting clouds in the Martian sky at sunset.

Sunrise with a tiny sun under the silhouette of the arm of the LG.

This was taken on April 24, 2019, around 5:30 in the morning, local time of March. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Sunset with the little sun under the arm of the undercarriage.

Here is the sunset the same day. This corrected version of the colors shows more precisely the image as the human eye would see it. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech.

The clouds pass in the panorama showing part of the lander and the Masquake detector.

Drifting clouds at sunset on April 25, 2019, around 18:30. Mars local time. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Clouds

This version of the above image, whose colors are corrected, shows more precisely the image as the human eye would see it. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech

It's actually the second time that InSight captures these daily events, NASA said. The camera took practice photos on March 2 and 10, 2019.

Justin Maki is co-investigator of the InSight science team and responsible for imaging at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Maki said:

It is a tradition of Mars missions to capture sunrises and sunsets. Once most of our imaging tasks were completed, we decided to capture the sunrise and sunset as seen from another world.

The first mission to return such images was the Viking Lander 1, which captured a sunset in August 1976. Viking 2 captured a sunrise in June 1978. Since then, the sunrise and sunset of sun were recorded by other missions, including Spirit, Opportunity. and the rovers of curiosity.

Bottom Line: Photos of sunsets and sunrises on Mars, taken by the NASA Insight LG.

Via NASA

Eleanor Imster

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