The HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently captured amazing views of the agency’s Curiosity rover and InSight lander on the Red Planet.
HiRISE has been carefully observing InSight’s landing site, which is located in Mars’ Elysium Planitia region, and taking note of changes to the Martian surface, NASA said in a press release. The camera has been keeping an eye on the lander and rover, just to make sure they’re moving across the Red Planet carefully.
👋 @NASAInSight
👋 @MarsCuriosity
The @HiRISE camera on our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of both missions on the surface.
🔍 Look closely to see the lander’s solar panels and seismometer and the rover’s tracks across Mount Sharp: https://t.co/OXVXe6zRJc pic.twitter.com/BMiu0E0A6m— NASA (@NASA) October 16, 2019
The first image, which was taken on September 23, 2019, was snapped at an altitude of 169 miles above Mars’ surface. NASA says it is the best view of InSight from space so far and captures the two circular solar panels on each side of the lander’s body. On the lower side of the spacecraft is the dome-shaped protective cover placed over InSight’s seismometer. A dark halo surrounds the lander, which was created by retrorocket thrusters during landing, while dark streaks from dust devils create a diagonal pattern in the image.
HiRISE is also watching over the Curiosity rover, which is currently exploring “the clay-bearing unit” on the Red Planet and positioned about 373 miles away from the InSight lander. A GIF uploaded by NASA on Wednesday showed the rover as a little gray speck, as it made its 1,106-foot trip from “Woodland Bay” to “Sandside Harbour” between May 31 and July 20, 2019. Curiosity’s tracks can also be seen on the right side of the second image of the GIF.
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