The rover, which is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, sends back raw images of what it encounters based on commands sent from the mission team.
The latest batch of photos shows the dusty robot posing for a selfie on Vera Rubin ridge which it's been investigating for the past few months in a bid to establish whether Mars is, or ever was, capable of supporting life.
In the background of the picture, the 3.4 mile high Mount Sharp can be seen just behind Curiosity's head.
The selfie was included in a huge tranche of images recounting what Curiosity has been doing in recent months. From the collection, NASA researchers stitched together a stunning panoramic view of Gale Crater, which the rover has been exploring since it touched down in August 2012.
The full view features a total of 16 photos pieced together. The pictures were taken from the rover's vantage point on the side of the mountain, more than 1,000 feet above the crater.
It stretches across an expanse greater than 30 miles and shows the route the rover has taken over the last five years as it trundles around at an average speed of one centimetre per second.
"Even though Curiosity has been steadily climbing for five years, this is the first time we could look back and see the whole mission laid out below us," said Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who works with Curiosity.
"From our perch on Vera Rubin Ridge, the vast plains of the crater floor stretch out to the spectacular mountain range that forms the northern rim of Gale Crater."Curiosity will soon go back to drilling for soil samples, this time along the Vera Rubin Ridge.
Reader Comments
[Beyond that evidence, some of the folks involved are laughable.... may as well start back with the Donna Shirley days of losing on the the early probes due to conversion errors & work through the JPL team leaders of today.... Most of these folks R, er um, not the brightest lightbulbs in the box, so to speak!]
NASA can sadly churn out this crap on a daily basis and everyone just laps it up.
When you've been caught lying many many times over you lose all credibility.
Has any independent source received any transmissions from Mars? Anything?
We know Russia/USSR has failed in EVERY attempt to get any safe landing. Yet they are very successful on a planet as hot as molten lead, which has atmosphere almost as thick as water!!!
Radiation on Mars is as bad as on the Moon. As the Moon is lashed by our plasmasphere, it is actually better on Mars?
As one YouTuber put being asked to believe in NASA and the moon missions - "It's an insult to our intelligence"
@L. Wood:
Oh, it's going to get a lot worse than it is now.
The 'clues' are just beginning to pour in.
There are still very very few people confronting today's 'reality show'. Hardly anyone has half an eyeball open, let alone be wide awake.
And even if they never do (awaken from their mesmerized state), it is still to going to get a lot worse for most people.
That is the grim and perverse reality of technocracy.
Zombies can feel (and react to) pain, too.
Oh, yes they can!
Have a good'n.
ned,
out
What I find extremely strange is one of the engineers of this new spacecraft, Orion (go figure on the name) speaking of their new craft in a promotional docu as if they have never before left earth orbit and they had no idea what would happen when they do.... No shit, this guy spoke as if they have zero data and Orion would be the first to go into the unknown...
After NASA is exposed and hollywood fails, maybe they will take over the movie business! They sure have the practice!