NASA’s Curiosity rover takes spectacular selfie on Mars at scenic ‘Mont Mercou’

NASA has just landed Perseverance rover May be grab all the mars related headlines these days, but the longtime Curiosity rover is here to remind us of all the good work it does on the Red Planet. NASA delivered a new Curiosity selfie on Tuesday, and it’s one for the ages.

Some rover selfies have focused on the machine itself, but this one is meant to celebrate the Martian landscape, and in particular a picturesque rock outcrop nicknamed “Mont Mercou” after a mountain in France.

The rock formation is 6 meters high and catches the eye. If you look closely to the left of the rover, you will also see a delicate hole representing Curiosity’s 30th drill sample on Mars.

The rover is positioned in a transition zone between the “clay unit, “a region with a fascinating water history, and the”sulphate-containing unit, “a place where researchers expect to find sulfates like gypsum and Epsom salts that can form when water evaporates.

“Scientists have long believed that this transition could reveal what happened to Mars as it became the desert planet we see today,” NASA said in a statement Tuesday.

The selfie on this lovely site is a composite of 60 images taken by a camera on the rover’s arm on March 26, combined with 11 other images taken earlier in the month by the camera mounted on the rover’s mast. The overall effect is an epic view of Gale Crater, the outcrop, and the rover’s little slice of heaven on Mars.

The Perseverance rover – which is currently deploying the Ingenuity helicopter – arrived on Mars in February 2021. Curiosity has been in residence on the Red Planet since 2012.

The Mont Mercou selfie is the latest in a long line of glorious sights on Mars as the veteran rover continues its exploration mission.

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