Posted on 06/28/2014 5:37:37 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: June 24th marked the first full Martian year of the Curiosity Rover's exploration of the surface of the Red Planet. That's 687 Earth days or 669 sols since its landing on August 5, 2012. To celebrate, consider this self-portrait of the car-sized robot posing next to a rocky outcrop dubbed Windjana, its recent drilling and sampling site. The mosaicked selfie was constructed with frames taken this April and May using the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), intended for close-up work and mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The MAHLI frames used exclude sections that show the arm itself and so MAHLI and the robotic arm are not seen. Famous for panoramic views, the rover's Mastcam is visible though, on top of the tall mast staring toward the left and down at the drill hole.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS]
Hey there Sunk!
I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate all the great articles you post, both the NASA and the Archaeology stuff.
I don’t always comment on them (and when I do it’s mostly humor) but I enjoy having a break from the Doom and Gloom of the news.
I’m sure I speak for a lot of other folks who enjoy your posts as well.
So the ‘shopped the arm and shadow out of the picture or was this really taken by some technician in the Mojave Desert somewhere? (like the moon landing, it’s a hoax)
LOL!
As I was looking at the photo I couldn’t help but think that Mars does look a lot like a desert on Earth.
Thanks shibumi!
" The MAHLI frames used exclude sections that show the arm itself and so MAHLI and the robotic arm are not seen. "
The rover holds the camera out on a mast/arm and takes multiple shots from different angles/positions over a short period of time. They have extra overlapping coverage from similar angles/positions so when they piece it together into the big picture they leave out the arm views. Also they subtly warp the pictures so the edges will fit together mostly seamlessly...I think photoshop will do most of this, tho I haven't tried. My smartphone does it for selfie panoramas...
No, the shadow is in the picture, next to the wheel on the right. But it's artfully composed, you might think it's the shadow of the wheel. For extra points you should try to discern where the cut line is for the arm itself. It's in the image.
Nice job.
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