In pics: Nasa's Curiosity sends postcard showing Martian morning, afternoon

The black-and-white photos of the surface of Mars were converted into panoramic images by scientists

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa)'s Mars rover Curiosity, captured a stunning mosaic postcard of the landscape on Mars which shows scientists what the red planet looks like at different times of the day. The rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to take panoramas of the Marker Band Valley on April 8, 2023, Nasa said.

Curiosity took photos in the morning and afternoon and sent them back to scientists on Earth. The black-and-white photos were then converted into panoramic images by scientists. The colour was added in post-processing, creating what Nasa called a “postcard”.
 

Curiosity's 'postcard' of Marker Band Valley

The panoramas exhibit how different the landscape looks at two different times of the day. The blue light shows the part of the image which was taken in the morning, while the yellow light signifies the afternoon. The images were taken at 9:20 am and 3:40 pm local Mars time.

The panorama shows two hills named Bolivar and Deepdale along with the Marker Band Valley. The rim of the Gale Crater can be seen at the edge of the photo which Curiosity is currently exploring. The image also shows a mountain which is located 87 kms from the edge of the crater.

Morning panorama without added color

“Anyone who’s been to a national park knows the scene looks different in the morning than it does in the afternoon,” said Curiosity engineer Doug Ellison at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Capturing two times of day provides dark shadows because the lighting is coming in from the left and the right like you might have on a stage — but instead of stage lights, we’re relying on the Sun.”

Nasa said that it was winter at the time when Curiosity took these photos. The shadows are more pronounced in the image as the dust levels in the Martian atmosphere are at their lowest.  

Afternoon panorama without added color

"Mars' shadows get sharper and deeper when there's low dust and softer when there's lots of dust," Ellison said.

Since its landing in 2012, Curiosity has been exploring the foothills of the 5 km-tall Mount Sharp at the center of Gale Crater. The Curiosity rover is primarily working to search for conditions, past or present, favorable for life on Mars. Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) built the Curiosity rover, which is managed by Caltech. The mission is led by JPL on behalf of Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.