curiosityrover

Video: NASA Gives a Tour of the Cameras on the Mars Curiosity Rover

The Curiosity Rover has been trekking the surface of Mars since late last year, and so far, there has been no shortage of great imagery.

But what gear is behind those intriguing images we see so frequently? NASA JPL has put together a short video on the camera equipment on board the Curiosity rover.

Nine Month Time-Lapse of Photos Taken on Mars by the Curiosity Rover

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover has sent down a constant stream of images from the Red Planet. Ever since it landed on August 8th, 2012, it's spent every spare moment snapping selfies, panoramas and surveillance footage, and sending it back home from between 33.9 and 250 million miles away (depending on the relative positions of Mars and Earth).

The majority of Curiosity's photos that get picked up by the press are taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager and Mastcam, but Curiosity is actually taking pictures each and every day. Equipped with Front Avoidance Hazard Cameras or "Hazcams," the rover has been snapping black-and-white images ever since it landed, and one YouTuber has decided to stitch all of those images into a time-lapse.

A White-Balanced Panoramic Photo of a Martian Mountain, Courtesy of Curiosity

The latest panorama sent down by NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover is unique in more ways than one. Not only is it a panorama taken on another planet (still blows our minds), it's also been subjected to some post production. The photo -- a piece of which is seen above -- has actually had its white balance modified by NASA to make it look more like it was taken on Earth.

Curiosity Rover Beams Down Stunning Self-Portrait Panorama from Mars

When the Mars Rover Opportunity was nearing its 9th year in the Martian sun, we shared a beautiful panoramic landscape shot of the red planet taken by the aging rover. It makes sense then that Curiosity would eventually send down a panorama of its own. But just like you would expect from a younger generation of rover, it couldn't help but make the pano a selfie.

An Arm’s-Length Self-Portrait Captured Millions of Miles Away

Facebook users here on Earth aren't the only ones shooting arm's-length self-portraits: NASA's Curiosity rover over on Mars is doing it as well! Curiosity captured the image above a couple of days ago using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), which is attached to an extendable robotic arm. The image is actually a composite of 55 separate photos shot using the 2-megapixel RGB color CCD camera.