Covered with red dust but still going strong, the Curiosity rover recently sent 57 new images to NASA, along with a new ‘selfie.’ After more than a year of exploration and study on the Vera Rubin ridge, the little robot is about to pack up and go further south on the Red Planet.
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One last selfie before departure
Since 2017, Curiosity has been exploring the Vera Rubin ridge (also known as the ‘Hematite ridge’), located not far from Mount Sharp, named after the pioneering work of the American astronomer on the rotation of galaxies. On December 15th, it drilled its nineteenth and last hole on the ‘Rock Hall' site.
Then, on January 15th, the robot captured a series of 57 images using the MAHLI camera located at the end of its robotic arm. These were assembled by the NASA team on Earth to provide us with a complete picture of Curiosity, covered in red dust due to a regional storm, but still active!
Towards new adventures
Now, the rover is about to embark on a journey to a clay-rich land south of the ridge. The minerals present at this site could contain valuable information about the ancient Martian lakes that participated in the formation of the lower reliefs of Mount Sharp. We wish Curiosity a good trip!
Check out the video above to see the out-of-this-world selfie for yourself!
