A panoramic image, comprised of 817 separate pictures of Mars, shows what NASA describes as “the next best thing” to being on the Red Planet.
The images were taken from the rover’s panoramic camera, or “Pancam,” between December 21, 2011 and May 8, 2012. The panorama shows the Martian terrain during winter as the “Opportunity” rover was stationary. The rover was stationed on an outcrop called “Greeley Haven,” according to NASA’s release, on part of the Endeavour Crater. The site was named after a scientist on the project, Ronald Greeley, who died in 2011.
“The view provides rich geologic context for the detailed chemical and mineral work that the team did at Greeley Haven over the rover’s fifth Martian winter, as well as a spectacularly detailed view of the largest impact crater that we’ve driven to yet with either rover over the course of the mission,” Pancam lead scientist Jim Bell said in a statement. Bell is a professor at Arizona State University.
Below are some close-ups of the panorama. See the full image here.
