NASA’s Mars InSight lander snapped its first selfie and sent it back to Earth.
The photo shows the first complete look at the lander’s workspace in an area on the Red Planet known as Elysium Planitia, where the probe successfully landed on Nov. 26. The picture shows InSight’s solar panels and deck. It also shows the rover’s science instruments, weather sensor booms and UHF antenna, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the InSight mission.
The selfie is actually composed of 11 images, which were taken by the lander’s Instrument Deployment Camera on the elbow of its robotic arm. The images were then stitched together into a type of mosaic photo, JPL officials said.
The $850 million InSight mission will study the deep interior of Mars and will help scientists understand the formation and early evolution of, not just Mars, but all rocky planets, including Earth.
About the Author
