This is one of the first images taken by
NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars on the morning of Aug. 6, 2012. It
was taken through a fisheye wide-angle lens on the left "eye" of a
stereo pair of Hazard-Avoidance cameras on the left-rear side of the rover. The
image is one-half of full resolution. The clear dust cover that protected the
camera during landing has been sprung open. Part of the spring that released
the dust cover can be seen at the bottom right, near the rover's wheel.
On the top left, part of the rover's
power supply is visible.
Some dust appears on the lens even with
the dust cover off.
The cameras are looking directly into
the sun, so the top of the image is saturated. Looking straight into the sun
does not harm the cameras. The lines across the top are an artifact called
"blooming" that occurs in the camera's detector because of the
saturation.
As planned, the rover's early
engineering images are lower resolution. Larger color images from other cameras
are expected later in the week when the rover's mast, carrying high-resolution
cameras, is deployed.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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