[ad_1]
NASA’s Perseverance rover hasn’t started roaming the Red Planet yet, but its cameras have been busy at work.
A suite of rugged, out-of-the-box sports cameras captured unprecedented footage of the rover descending to Mars and landing in Jezero Crater on Thursday. Then, the rover’s scientific and navigation cameras began to detach as soon as it was on the ground. The results are breathtaking.
NASA has released more than 4,700 images of the rover so far, with more to come.
“This has been a source of data,” Justin Maki, an imaging scientist at Perseverance and head of the instrument operations team, said Monday.
The new photos reveal the sand dunes, boulders and distant 200-foot-high cliffs of the old lake bed where Perseverance now sits. It’s the most dangerous terrain any landing on Mars has targeted, but it’s already paying off in unprecedented portraits of the Red Planet.
“I go through the images of Mars, every day. That’s what I do. And when I saw these images come down, I have to say I was really amazed,” Maki said. “I know this has been a tough year for everyone, and we hope that maybe these pictures will help brighten people’s day.
[ad_2]
Source link