A new composite image of the Martian landscape released by NASA proves that some rovers are overachievers.
Opportunity, which set out on a three-month mission in 2004 alongside its rover buddy Spirit, has continued to traverse the Red Planet for years, and its latest photographic offering is quite the collage. Opportunity snapped 817 images while stationed at the large Endeavour impact crater between December 2011 and May 2012, creating a high-res panorama of the rusty dirt and smoky Martian mountains in its view. The center of the composite shows the view to the North, while the edges of the panorama show the view to the south and the rover’s solar arrays.
Not bad for a robotic explorer about to hit its 3,000th day on Mars. When NASA’s latest exploratory vehicle Curiosity lands later this month, it will have to earn its rover stripes. In the meantime, we’ll be playing “where’s Martian Waldo” with this image.
Video by Dallas Jensen.
