This Haunting Picture Is the First Orbital View of Curiosity Shifting Throughout Mars

For apparently the primary time ever, the Curiosity rover on Mars has been noticed mid-drive from orbit, a speck of human presence on the in any other case barren and grayscale panorama.

The picture, taken on February 28, 2025 (Sol 4,466—a leap day right here on Earth!), reveals Curiosity as a tiny darkish blot on the finish of a rover observe path that stretches about 1,050 toes (320 meters) throughout the Martian floor. It’s the orbital equal of a candid digicam, courtesy of the HiRISE (Excessive-Decision Imaging Science Experiment) digicam aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Whereas HiRISE has snapped Curiosity earlier than, this marks the primary time we’ve seen it mid-stride—erm, roll—caught within the means of finishing a 69-foot (21-meter) drive—a reality confirmed by matching timestamps with the rover’s command logs. Curiosity’s high velocity? A blistering 0.1 mph (0.16 kilometers per hour). No, it received’t win any races—at the least in comparison with autos on Earth—however the rover is regular, hardy, and unbothered by the absence of fuel stations.

The tracks, crunched into the Martian terrain over 11 separate drives made since February 2, had been dug as Curiosity made its manner from the planet’s Gediz Vallis channel towards its subsequent science goal: a rocky area that will characteristic boxwork formations, presumably formed by groundwater within the planet’s historical previous.

The brand new picture reveals the rover on the base of a steep slope—one it’s since ascended en path to that rocky location. How lengthy it should take Curiosity to reach is determined by the terrain forward, the rover’s navigation software program, and the usually up to date plans from NASA engineers, who steer the rover and work with scientists to prioritize its targets.

Apparently, HiRISE often captures photographs with a strip of shade down the middle, however Curiosity landed within the digicam’s black-and-white zone this time. So alas—no full-color Martian glamour shot—however nonetheless, it’s a stunner. A lonely speck, chugging up an alien slope, caught within the act from more than 150 miles (241 km) overhead.