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PIA16018: Gravel-Covered Martian Surface
This full-resolution color image from NASA's Curiosity Rover shows the gravel-covered surface of Mars. It was taken by the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) several minutes after Curiosity touched down on Mars.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) 
 Spacecraft:  Curiosity
 Instrument:  MARDI 
 Product Size:  2108 x 1533 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA16018.tif (3.237 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA16018.jpg (198.7 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Click here for annotated version of PIA16018
Annotated Image

This full-resolution color image from NASA's Curiosity Rover shows the gravel-covered surface of Mars. It was taken by the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) several minutes after Curiosity touched down on Mars.

The camera is about 30 inches (70 centimeters) from the surface as the rover sits on the ground. The image pixel scale is about 0.02 inches (0.5 millimeters), but the camera is slightly out of focus at this distance, so the actual ground scale is about 0.06 inches (1.5 millimeters). A sliver of sunlight passing through the structure of the rover illuminates the surface. The largest rock fragment in the image is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) long. Most are much smaller. A rover wheel is visible at the top left.

This is the 1,008th image that MARDI took. The original image from MARDI has been geometrically corrected to look flat. Curiosity landed inside of a crater known as Gale Crater.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Image Addition Date:
2012-08-08