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NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Ken Kremer / Marco Di Lorenzo
A mosaic of photos taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the underside of the rover and its six wheels, with Martian terrain stretching back to the horizon. The four circular features on the front edge of the rover are the lenses for the left and right sets of Curiosity's hazard avoidance cameras, or Hazcams. Because of the different perspectives used for different images, some of the borders of the photos don't line up precisely.
More than a month after landing, NASA's Curiosity rover is finally ready for its close-ups, and they're coming in bunches: After taking its own profile picture, the six-wheeled robot has snapped a series of images that show its flat-as-a-board belly.
Today's flood of photographs comes courtesy of the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, one of Curiosity's 17 cameras. The self-focusing, 1.5-inch-wide (4-centimeter-wide) camera is mounted on the end of Curiosity's robotic arm, and is designed to take up-close pictures of rocks and soil on Mars. It serves a purpose similar to that of a geologist's hand lens — hence its name.
MAHLI is undergoing a series of checkouts now that the 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) robotic arm has been limbered up. The rover is making its way to its first major destination: a geologically intriguing spot called Glenelg, which is about a quarter-mile (400 meters) from the spot in Gale Crater where Curiosity landed on Aug. 5.
The rover's $2.5 billion primary mission is aimed at determining whether Mars ever had the chemical constituents to support life. Glenelg will serve as a good warmup for the centerpiece of Curiosity's two-year trek: a climb up the slopes of a 3-mile-high mountain called Aeolis Mons or Mount Sharp.
So far, all of Curiosity's instruments appear to be in great shape — with the exception of a wind-speed sensor that was apparently taken out of commission by a hail of pebbles kicked up during the rover's descent. Curiosity's handlers had worried that the pebbles might have damaged the MAHLI camera as well. Fortunately, the pictures taken over the past few days prove that MAHLI (pronounced like "Molly") is in great shape.
This mosaic of Curiosity's trim underside was put together by Ken Kremer, a New Jersey-based journalist, research chemist and photographer; and Marco Di Lorenzo, a physicist who is a high school educator and photographer in Italy. Kremer and Di Lorenzo are among the habitues of UnmannedSpaceflight.com, where image-processing gurus are having a field day with the MAHLI pictures. NASA's website for the Curiosity mission is also mad about MAHLI today. Check out these MAHLI masterpieces, plus a bonus panorama from Ken Kremer and a video from NBC Nightly News:
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
This picture shows just how much detail the MAHLI camera can pick up. It shows a one-cent coin and a few of the symbols printed on a calibration target mounted on Curiosity. The image was acquired from a distance of 2 inches (5 centimeters). The coin is a 1909 penny provided by MAHLI principal investigator Ken Edgett. "Everyone in the United States can recognize the penny and immediately know how big it is, and can compare that with the rover hardware and Mars materials in the same image," Edgett explained. "The public can watch for changes in the penny over the long term on Mars. Will it change color? Will it corrode? Will it get pitted by windblown sand?" Flecks of reddish Martian sand can already be seen on and around the penny. One of the images printed above the penny is a cartoon character called "Joe the Martian."
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
This image, captured by Curiosity's MAHLI camera over the weekend, shows a patch of ground measuring about 34 inches (86 centimeters) across. The size of the largest pebble, near the bottom of the image, is about 3 inches (8 centimeters).
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
A combination of images from the MAHLI camera provides a close look at the Curiosity rover's wheels, right down to the dirt stuck in the treads.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Ken Kremer / Marco Di Lorenzo
Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo produced this "colorized" version of a panorama looking back at the Curiosity rover's tracks on Sol 24 of its mission (Aug. 30). The panorama is based on black-and-white imagery from Curiosity's Navcam system. Missing patches of the Martian sky have been filled in. The lower reaches of Mount Sharp can be seen at the picture's left edge, and the rise of Gale Crater's rim stretches across the rest of the horizon.
NASA's Curiosity rover took a self-portrait on Mars, using a camera mounted on its robotic arm. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Update for 9:05 p.m. ET: Kremer points out that the pictures of Curiosity's underbelly are far sharper than similar underbelly images that were captured by the Spirit rover in 2009, when mission managers worried that it was hung up on a rock. He said the difference illustrates the "quantum leap" in capability between the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which were launched in 2003, and the Curiosity rover, which was sent toward Mars last year.
More vistas from Mars:
- Curiosity snaps its own profile picture
- Mars rover's tracks traced from orbit
- Curiosity looks back at its first tracks
- Rover's first moves at Bradbury Landing
- Martian peak picks up some extra color
- Curiosity rover points to its target peak
- Cosmic Log archive for the Mars mission
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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Does the date 1909 on the penny have any significance? Seems like they would have used a 2012!
Yes. It is the first Lincoln penny manufactured in 1909.
Well, I agree, 2012 might have made more sense. But who cares? I mean, it's on Mars. Abraham Lincoln's image is mounted on a rover ON MARS!
I was struck by the rock in the picture of the ground. It looks like shale, something you might find around here.
Look at the rounded surfaces and then the sharp, flat surfaces. No blast marks so how did that happen? It's like something struck it off of a larger piece of rock.
Are you sure this isn't Southern Arizona?
Yup, I didn't want to get into the full explanation for the 1909 penny in the caption itself, but here it is from NASA's website:
Thanks Alan!
Now I can be a true nerd in the know. Where's that water cooler?!
They could not have used a 2012 penny since the rover was launched some three years ago.
Grumpy61..the Curiosity rover lifted off on November 26,2011 from earth (a little over eight months later it landed on Mars). They could of use a 2011 penny if they wanted too.
Nope, this ain't southern Arizona.
Doesn't matter what the date is on the penny. It's just there in case the rover needs to phone home. Sure hope the payphones take US coins
Good to know... "a penny for his thoughts".... I'm just surprised that skip didn't mention worms..... :)
2012 coins would have been minted before Nov 2011, so they could have used a 2012 penny. But I think they used the 1909 penny because so engineer donated it to be placed there because of it's significance of being Abe's 100'th bday and the first minting of a Lincoln penny.
Need some of those Martian Goodyear Tires. Would kill the tire industry getting 65 million miles before your first rotation.
I suspect Ken Edgett is a coin collector, or at least has a passing interest in numismatics, otherwise he would have chosen just any penny rather than going for the '09 VDB.
That's a real copper penny. How much is it worth?
I think it's safe to say that the value of that penny was elevated by it's current status. If it ever made it's way back to earth, it would probably be worth more than any other penny that was ever made.
But 1909 pennies can go from anywhere between 20USD and 2000USD depending on markings and condition. I think their was a lead version that is not really desirable to own, especially with what we know about lead now.
Flame...you're a fan. Actually, I'm glad somebody noticed, I was beginning to wonder.
No, I just thought I'd focus on the obvious fact that these pictures were really taken in Southern Arizona BEFORE the actual launch just in case they need "filler" to buy time while they decided how to handle the discovery of life on Mars.
They are probably waiting until after the Presidential election to make the announcement. They don't want the discovery to become a political football.
There will be worms!
lolllll Worms...... lloll
Take a look at picture 3 from top, bottom left corner. Looks like a skinny small stick around that region.
well spotted, the shadow indicates a narrow surface area too
I noticed it too. Martian sandworm!!
Maybe it was a snake that hitched a ride to Mars from Earth. That happens all the time, you know. But seriously, I don't think we will find active life forms on Mars above the microbe level. At least not on the surface or within at least a foot of it, but worms? , Possible but so far that only happens in movies like "Dune": ;)
But if anything can survive on Mars on the lowest level, it will most likely take the form of a "worm" like animal.
Anyways, I just came back around to say I see that thin object...I rotate the pic 180 degres to make it easier with the shadows towards me, sun away....If you look close, there appears to be another one just a few inches to the right (left, in the published version)....in fact, there are a couple of "rocks?", all slender, all more or less orientated in the same direction....not all are straight. I wanted to run it through ds0 last nite but I did not have a tiff file...going to get it now...meanwhile maybe I will run it through salsa J and see it that way...I won't be posting back on this, just some ideas for some of those that are interested. What would be really neat would be some pics where the rover snapped one, waited, snapped another a couple of seconds later.....if anything moved, well, I guess there would be a lot of speculation and conjecture, with out the anenometer some would question no matter what was said. I figure these are thin rocks and mars is cold as hell. Some how, I feel sure skip is gonna be a happy camper within two years. One thing is for sure, worms sure would vindicate a certain individual that got scolded for having the audacity to slice open a meterorite, snap an electron microscope pic and then publish what he saw......I am in no hurry to bring my e-scope back on line with so many "scolders" around....
Very cool pictures and an awesome idea to mount the penny for us simple folks to see how it reacts to its Martian environment.
You get a good idea of gravity by the depth of the tracks, looks similar to Earth's. The arrowhead looking rock is compelling too. Lower left corner, 1" in 2" up
Mars' surface gravity is 0.38G...
So you could probably leap up in the air and it would take roughly 1 second longer than normal to land again.
Roughly 2 and a half times longer than on Earth. On the Moon, it would take about 5 and a half times as long. A future Mars Olympics or Lunar Olympics could set some amazing Long Jump and Triple Jump records...
Too bad Mars sucks. This rover should have gone to Gliese
Rocks. Nothing but simple rocks on Mars.
Far from simple rocks. The potential of Mars for humanity is unimaginable. Those rocks hold many promises to our future. All we have to do is have the courage and the will to act in our own best interests.
Riiiight ..
Mesorandom, Where is Gilese and why would you want a Mars rover there?
Oh there's more than just rocks on Mars !
Why didn't we go to Gliese? Because it would take about 194,000 years to get there...
Wonder what interest rate the Bank of Mars is giving?
It's an astronomical rate!
What a stellar investment...
What ever happens, don't let the banks start selling derivatives on Mars! We would have to move to another solar system to solve that mess! Haha!:)
Did we plant an American Flag, or did the robot plant one. Just to prove we were there first.
It's a 2011 Rover XL, so anyone will know it's a U.S. made rover. It also took a picture of itself then postmarked it back to Earth. Don't need any more proof then that.
The first Viking lander had an American flag painted on it
Interesting question, where is the flag? And if it's not there, why not?
They were going to plant a flag. But they were stopped by the Godless, America-hating Obama.
Clarence, you are an idiot. Its about Nasa, mars and a machine. Why do people like you always have to make it something else.
For whatever reason these images made me stop, think and just marvel, really marvel, at the fact that our species has safely flung technology to another planet (again). Just consider, many of us reading have known a family member or two who were born before the Wright Brother's first flight. Utterly amazing.
I guess I technically knew my great grandmothers, one better than the other. Both of the ladies remembered the first airplanes.
It is utterly amazing when put into that perspective.
The last veteran of the US Civil War died in 1956.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Woolson
Lots of people alive today can recollect speaking personally to people who served in the Civil War.
My grandmother was 22 years old in 1903 when the Wright Brothers made their flight at Kitty Hawk. When she was in her 70's, she flew from the Midwest to visit her daughter and family in California. She described to me how she felt to be in a big TWA airliner at an altitude of 16,000 feet over the Rocky Mountains in the early 1950's. What amazing thechnological wonders were achieved in the course of one lifetime.
Fabulous pictures. It gives me a shiver to think of Curiosity roving around on MARS...Mars! Wow. The accomplishments of this project is mind boggling. I'm grateful these pictures are shared with us, thank you.
Absolutely breathtakingly MAHVELOUS.
You know, someday when human spaceflight between the planets will be commonplace, that penny is going to be absolutely priceless on the open market.
I can't wait for that day as it will mean that we have finally gotten off the collective couch!
I really enjoy all these pics of Mars. It's a temporary fix to get our minds off the troubles on Earth. Can't wait to see what Curosity may possibly discover.
I can tell you what lies beneath the dirt: more dirt. I didn't need to spend $1B to discover this.
Go take a dirt nap.
The chemical composition of the dirt is important. Can you tell us that?
Al Qaida, I mean Al Kyda, so what do you think is money well spent? Hiring 19 loosers to start world war 3? Just asking :)
Well, maybe you could spend $1B to find dirt under the dirt on Mars, but we spent $2.5B to find all the other stuff besides the dirt. You can go the cheap route if you like, but I think this is money well spent.
Wish they could have added a tiny tank and compressor with tubes running to all the camera lenses to occasionally “Air Puff” the dust from the lenses. It might have been handy for puffing dust from samples of interest or even dusting the calibration chart on the rover, etc.
That's a good idea. Most likely it was considered, but everything adds to the weight of the vehicle, especially any kind of reliable neumatics. So most likely the risk versus reward wasn't justified for the payload weight and development cost.
But that's a good idea just the same, it should be developed. It would have to involve the camera manufacturers as well, so not that simple of a project. But it's a trivial aspect of the overall Mars mission. Maybe next time.
These pictures are amazing. One day mankind will find a way to travel to Mars. I won't be around but maybe my kids. I was 12 when NASA put Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon. The pictures were grainy but considering the technology at the time it was pretty good. Most people don't realize that a signal from a TV transmitter loses 99% of its wattage within a few feet of the transmitter antenna. When you think of a 100 million miles plus it is an astounding feat of engineering. Chemical rocket engines get us into space but maybe someday ion or nuclear propulsion will push machines faster and further through the galaxy. I see above, in the threads, that someone thinks it is too expensive to do this sort of thing. I knew we would see it mentioned or someone will mention this event never happened (broadcasted from a sound stage or warehouse). People can sure be idiots. Go JPL...Go NASA...Go America.
Either there is moisture in the ground or the wheels have adhesive on them
You've never walked in dust have you? It cakes into the cracks of the shoes -- it doesn't just fall back out onto the ground. It gets everywhere, fills up everything, and sticks to everything. It holds shape as though it was damp because of how fine the particles are -- they compress easily, and hold shape once compressed, until brushed loose again.
Bob,
space dust is not worn down like our is. There is no or little erosion on these planets. So this means the dust particles there are sharp and thus stick to surfaces more readily. This may be less true on Mars since there is some what of an atmosphere though.
Thank the Mythbusters for that bit of information. They explained it in their debunking of the Moon landing conspiracy theorists.
Geowil, I haven't seen that episode of Mythbusters, but wll look it up. But, there is no such thing as "Space Dust" that I have ever heard of. I think you are referring to the dust encountered on the moon itself. The moon is a unique environment, but "moon dust" is not considered "space dust".
Mars dust could be completely unique from anything else, but I am expecting that similarities between Mars and Earth will eventually be found. The prevailing theory is that most of the inner planets were created by the same solar event. The sun itself is the mother that gave birth to the planets. So the planets should have similarities separated only in time of development, and other physical factors that were influenced by their birth and eventual forming at their current orbits. But all of the matter that forms the planets of the local solar system were at one time captured at the center of what is now known as the sun.
John,
space dust as in plural for dust on all planets in the universe. Maybe extraterrestrial dust would be a better fit? but yeah it was Season 6 Episode 10: NASA Moon Landing.
I would like to second what 53 in Texas said - Go NASA, Go JPL and I think this is a far better use of taxed dollars then have a bunch of our men and women fighting wars that there is no end in sight. It is time to bring home our service personal and have NASA built a rocket that sends men and women to Mars. That would be great, my son was born a few months before we land on the moon. Thanks NASA and thanks to Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins and the team player around the world. Last year I went to Houston and NASA, it was a great trip. To bad we are trying to do away with NASA or cut they budget.
53 in Texas -funny you said about warehouse - when I worked out at Lockheed Martin in Denver, they did have one area they used as a test bed for something about Mars.
My old boss did not believe we went to the moon. I am sure he also believed that Kennedy lived a great life on the top floor of a hotel here in Dallas. Some peoples kids.
Was your boss a Canadian author? Those guys have made a fortune off that conspiracy theory market.
Anyway I agree too, Go NASA go JPL! At least these guys are actually winning their battles, so far. Money well spent!
Did NASA just wasted my Tax Dollars? and can't find no Aliens.
The technologies we use every day that were derived from the Space Program are uncountable. So many more billions have been made than were spent it's incalculable. More than anything, it was what propelled us into the modern Information Age we enjoy today.
Just because you can't quantify the expected returns beforehand doesn't mean there aren't any. It might be decades before we realize exactly how important these missions were, and how these brilliant scientists have redefined the world we live in.
Battleon, you don't understand that that Nasa didn't "waste" about 7 dollars per person on your "can't find no Aliens"
Man, ignorant people shouldn't even read about things like these.
Battleon, you missed the point. We are the aliens, so far. You have to be an alien yourself before you can meet one in an alien place.
But if there was any chance of life on Mars in the form of any kind of fossil, this rover should be able to image it accurately. But don't expect some animal to run up to the rover and take a leak on it. Although that be would extremely cool, if it actually happened :)
This isn't news. Use it for some damn science.
I also know people that do not believe that Armstrong walked on the moon. I was 30 years old then,stationed in Korea,Watched the AFKN tv broadcast of the moon landing.Made me proud,but the next day,some people were claiming that it was a hoax.Said we never got to the moon,just broadcast from some movie studio to honor JFK.,and justify all the money NASA was spending.Oh well some people's kids.
What amazingly sharp hi-def pictures. I remember the fuzzy video sent back from the first moon landing, and today ... look at these ... WOW !!! And then there's VEEGER ( Voyager 1 ) with its state-of-the-art 64k computer, on its way out of the solar system, and still working, not to mention the 90 day rovers on Mars, a couple of them are still at work, years later. I know we need to scale spending back when the economy slows, but cutting back on NASA is a big mistake .... tomorrows miracles and new industries are waiting to be discovered today !!
Only Opportunity is still running. They should try to drive it over to Curiosity, although I think it's at least 2000 miles away.
Blah, very funny! Maybe they should equip all future rovers with smartphones so they can all meet up autonomously for one of those mob things. Sounds like a good theme for a horror movie actually, and something that could already be happening on earth :)
But I agree with Bob, money well spent. And America is first again!
When I see this it just reminds me once more of the wonderful things humans are capable of when they put aside their petty differences and work for the betterment of all. Truly amazing feat.
are the pics colorized for our enhanced viewing pleasue? That 3cm rock sure looks like shale, plain good ole grey shale, plenty of it around here....has the laser been used in this spot yet? I am very anxious to get as much data as possible. We are truely fortunate to have such an open space program. Think about it, some countries would completely deny they sent a rover anywhere, others would say they did and never release a single gambit of evidence, others would of waited months to make sure everything went well, and then spin out a small paragraph for success. We, on the other hand, post the pictures on the internet, share all the data, tell you straight up what failed, and why if we can figure it out. You can only imagine that on every country on the planet, there is someone studying the data for the benefit of their own country and or selves. America. How much is that penny worth? the smart answer is 2.5 billion, the real answer? priceless. Nice story Alan. Once again. You have at least one reader here that's hopes you'll publish the spectra data as it becomes available. It was really neat to see how the atm psi varied.
Ray, I agree. No one doubted the original moon landings when they actually happened. It was radio signals beamed back by the moon itself and the ENTIRE world just watched with mouth open in many cases.
The conspiracy theories started decades later by imaginitive writers, there has never been any shred of evidence that confirms any aspect of one conspiracy theory regarding the moon missions. All their so called "facts and information" are completely bogus and easily discredited.
It's an insult to every American to even suggest that the moon landings were some how faked.
I don't take it as an insult, rather I feel it is sad we can't find a way to prove it to some people with a personal rocket launch just for them, by them and of them. But I jest, of course. You make a great point, if someone wants to sell books, look for the most popular event, and take a counterpoint!!....I bet that is a lesson taught by big institutions of higher learning. I worry sometimes scientists looking for scarce grant monies write up proposals with the exact same marketing in mind.
The most convincing evidence that the moon missions were not faked are the Russians. They also listened to the signals and broadcasts, and you can bet they analyzed them using every possible means. If the moon landings were faked it would have been announced loud and long.
No, the simple fact that the Russians (Soviets at that time) didn't contest the landings proves that they actually occurred.
Amazing,
This Mars landing and the Curiosity rover really is a feat of engineering and state of the art technological know how... I'm amazed by the potential of this machine and the ones to follow to other worlds as we tackle the challenges of deep space exploration. It will be interesting to see what we'll find.
Peace to all ~
Well now that we know there is no life on Mars, is the Government going to spend another 5.2 Billion to bring the space junk home? Just what did we accomplish here? Only thing I can fiqure is Nothing, Not, Nata, except more wasteful spending that could have gone into something here, like securing our borders from Idiots that feel just because they have somehow managed to SNEEK into this country, they feel they actually have Constitutional Rights. How about letting the Citizens of this country spend 5.2 Billion to prove these border jumping trash wrong, and then send the scum to someplace like Guatonamo Bay, and give them what they really are entitled to! What do you say Mr. Pres.
Your theory reminds me of the famous "Wall of China". America is first in space travel and this mission shows that. If you are an American, you should be proud of that.
Building walls on earth is a thing of the past. The so called "Great Wall of China" is now a tourist destination and really doesn't keep anyone out of their country. If you think that "border fences" will keep out illegals, you are very naive.
And besides all that, we just got to Mars, we know very little about it at all so far, but we are there first and will be the first to know.
Jesus, larry! Save it for the political blogs. I am so tired of you silly naysayers complaining about all the "wasteful spending." Did you know that every dollar spent on this mission was spent on Earth? None of it actually went to Mars.
People were paid.
Then they spent that money. Here. On Earth. Most likely in America.
We'll talk about your wall to keep people from "SNEEK[ing] into this country" somewhere else.
If you don't like to read about money spent on the space program, stay away from the articles, silly.