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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of Mont Mercou, a rocky outcrop 6 meters high. The panorama is made up of 60 images from the MAHLI camera on the robotic arm of the rover as well as 11 images from the Mastcam on the mast, or “head”, of the rover. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
The rover also took a pair of panoramas to create a 3D view of the austere cliff face shown in the selfie.
Early March, NASACuriosity of March rover began to approach an impressive rock formation that scientists nicknamed “Mont Mercou”, a nickname taken from a mountain in France. Standing around 6 meters high, the outcrop is captured in all its majesty in a new selfie, as well as a pair of panoramas offering a 3D view. The selfie shows Curiosity in front of Mount Mercou with a new borehole near a rock specimen dubbed ‘Nontron’ – the mission’s 30th specimen to date.
Curiosity’s drill pulverized the sample before pouring it into the instruments inside the rover so the science team could better understand the rock’s makeup and what clues it might offer about Mars’ past. This area is at the transition between the “clay unit” of Curiosity’s departure and the “sulfated unit” that sits in front of Mount Sharp, the 3 mile high (5 kilometer high) mountain that the rover was. since 2014. Scientists have long believed that this transition could reveal what happened to Mars as it became the desert planet we see today.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam instrument to take the 32 individual images that make up this panorama of the outcrop nicknamed “Mont Mercou”. It took a second panorama to create a stereoscopic view. Both panoramas were taken on March 4, 2021, the 3049th Martian, or sol, day of the mission. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Mont Mercou in France is located near the village of Nontron in the south-east of the country. The team chose Nontron-related nicknames for this part of the red planet because orbiters on Mars detected nontronite, a type of clay mineral found near Nontron in the region. Surface missions assign nicknames to landmarks to provide mission team members with a common way to refer to rocks, soils, and other geological features of interest.
The selfie is made up of 60 images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the rover’s robotic arm on March 26, 2021, the 3070th Martian, or ground, day of the mission. These were combined with 11 images taken by the Mastcam on the mast, or “head,” of the rover on March 16, 2021, the 3060th Martian day of the mission.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam instrument to take the 126 individual images that make up this 360-degree panorama on March 3, 2021, the 3048th Martian, or ground, day of the mission. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Curiosity also provided a pair of panoramas using its Mastcam on March 4, 2021, the 3049th Martian day of the mission. By taking a panorama about 40 meters from the outcrop, then rolling to the side and photographing another at the same distance, the rover created a stereoscopic effect similar to that seen in 3D sights. Studying the outcrop from several angles allows scientists to get a better idea of the 3D geometry of the sedimentary layers of Mount Mercou. An anaglyph of the image can be visualized through red-blue glasses, which you can learn to do here.
Anaglyph of “Mont Mercou”. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
In addition to the stereo view and the selfie, Curiosity took a 360-degree panorama of Mont Mercou and its surroundings with its Mastcam.
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