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NASA’s Curiosity rover took a “pland” selfie on August 22, 2021.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
This story is part of Welcome to mars, our series exploring the red planet.
Standard selfies are no longer enough. NASA’s Curiosity rover (a few years overdue) is embarking on Instagram’s “plandid” trend for candid, planned photos. A key requirement of a successful plandid is not to look into the camera. He should look relaxed, like you didn’t know about the snapshot. Curiosity made him fall.
The Curiosity selfie is from August 22 and was captured by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at the end of its robotic arm. The original photo shows the rover’s “head” upside down, tilted slightly to the side. A perfect plan.
“I’ve heard that ‘plandids’ are all the rage on Earth. Did I understand well ? ” the Curiosity team tweeted Monday. The rover’s selfie was only lit by the sun, which made it look dark and atmospheric.
I’ve heard that “plandids” are all the rage on Earth. Did I understand correctly? 🤳
I took this image using my Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) which is on the turret at the end of my arm. All the LEDs were off, so the Sun is my only light source. https://t.co/U4CvjVv4R5 pic.twitter.com/w2jo5vpgey
– Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) 23 Aug 2021
It’s easy to anthropomorphize Martian rovers. The “face” of Curiosity is in fact a series of instruments at the end of its mast. The cameras there act like human eyes.
The rover is currently climbing the slope of the Mount Sharp massif in Gale Crater on Mars as it investigates its surroundings and looks for evidence that the area may have once been habitable for microbial life.
Curiosity comes from celebrating nine years on Mars with a breathtaking panorama. This intimate selfie plandid is a perfectly personal counterpoint to this epic, panoramic view of the landscape.
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