Scientists of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday released new photographs of the landing of Mars rover Perseverance on the Red Planet, including an image of the six-wheel vehicle itself.
The rover’s “selfie” was taken just before touchdown, from a camera installed in its “jetpack”, Perseverance’s Twitter handle stated.
The moment that my team dreamed of for years, now a reality. Dare mighty things. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/8SgV53S9KG
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021
“You can see the dust kicked up by the rover’s engines,” Adam Steltzner, Perseverance’s Chief Engineer said, according to AFP, who estimated that the shot was taken about two meters (six feet) above the ground.
Steltzner said he found the image “instantly iconic” and compared it to images of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon in 1969, or the Voyager 1 probe’s images of Saturn in…