Curiosity Self-Portrait at Martian Sand Dune

This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at "Namib Dune," where the rover's activities included scuffing into the dune with a wheel and scooping samples of sand for laboratory analysis.

The scene combines 57 images taken on Jan. 19, 2016, during the 1,228th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The camera used for this is the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at the end of the rover's robotic arm. 

Namib Dune is part of the dark-sand "Bagnold Dune Field" along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp. Images taken from orbit have shown that dunes in the Bagnold field move as much as about 3 feet (1 meter) per Earth year.

The location of Namib Dune is show on a map of Curiosity's route at http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=7640. The relationship of Bagnold Dune Field to the lower portion of Mount Sharp is shown in a map at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16064.)

The view does not include the rover's arm. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic's component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images, or portions of images, that were used in this mosaic. This process was used previously in acquiring and assembling Curiosity self-portraits taken at sample-collection sites, including "Rocknest" (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16468), "Windjana" (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18390) and "Buckskin" (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19807).

For scale, the rover's wheels are 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter and about 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. 

MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Public domain masterpieces

The mission of this series is to promote space and science. The creators want these designs to hang on your wall, which is in line with our mission in Astrography. That is why we decided to use our competence in printing cosmos inspired graphics and photos to provide you with these projects in the highest possible quality on Fine Art (Giclée) pigments and papers.

These projects are available in the public domain. You can download them from NASA website and print them at any printing house. but we are convinced that thanks to our experience in printing space photographs we are able to provide the best quality of these posters in the world. We do not earn on copyright here. In this series, we provide specializing printing competences & technologies (dedicated in space), packaging and worldwide logistics. Let the promotion of science and art become a common fashion.

Posters will look great in your home, children’s room, or office.