NASA’s Curiosity rover has captured a striking new view of Mars as it passed a major mission milestone: 5,000 Martian days on the Red Planet.
While stopped at a sandy ridge nicknamed “Chocolatal,” Curiosity used its navigation cameras to photograph the surrounding landscape at two different times of day. The cameras normally capture images in black and white.
The first panorama was recorded on Aug. 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. local Mars time, marking the mission’s 5,000th Martian day, or sol. A second panorama was taken on Sep. 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time, during Curiosity’s 5,003rd sol.
Morning and Evening Combined Into One Mars View
After the images arrived on Earth, the two panoramas were combined into a single scene. Color was then added as an artistic interpretation, with blue used for the morning view and yellow for the afternoon.
The finished “postcard” follows the style of similar Curiosity images created in the past, including one taken in November 2021.
Several parts of the rover are visible in the foreground. They include Curiosity’s cylindrical UHF antenna, which sends data to spacecraft orbiting Mars, along with the finned Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) at the rear. The MMRTG serves as the rover’s nuclear power source.
Curiosity’s tracks are also visible extending away across the Martian terrain.
A View Across Gale Crater
The rover is currently exploring the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a mountain rising 3 miles (5 kilometers) inside Gale Crater. From Curiosity’s position, the panorama looks downhill toward the crater floor, while the distant rim of Gale Crater is only faintly visible along the horizon.
Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL operates the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
