11 August 2012

First Full-Resolution Mastcam Panorama

Posted by Ryan Anderson

Feast your eyes on this:

The first full-resolution Mastcam panorama of the Curiosity landing site. Click to go to the NASA site where you can download the full-resolution JPG version (9 MB).

As you can see, there are still a few frames missing, but still. Wow. I love the way the crater rim fades in the distance, and the tantalizing glimpses at the layers of Mt. Sharp. The foreground is plenty interesting too, with a variety of rock shapes and colors, and of course the rocks exposed by the blast of the skycrane’s rockets.

I feel like I keep saying this, but just wait, it gets even better. Remember, this panorama was taken with the wide angle Mastcam. The other “eye” is more zoomed in, to reveal even more detail. I don’t know when we will get images from the zoomed mastcam, but everyone is looking forward to them.