NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) during the mission’s sols 1282 and 1284 (Sept. 2 and Sept. 4, 2007) to take the images combined into this mosaic view of the rover. The downward-looking view omits the mast on which the camera is mounted.
Opportunity had endured a Martian dust storm and the rover team wanted to assess the dustiness of the solar panels. Because rover power was limited following the storm, fewer images were acquired for this mosaic than would be used in a standard deck panorama.
The portrait combines exposures taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 601 nanometers, 535 nanometers and 482 nanometers. It is presented in approximate true color, the camera team’s best estimate of what the scene would look like if humans were there and able to see it with their own eyes.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
