Please admire the 2.5 billion pixel image capturing detailed panoramic views of Mars

The video explores detailed panoramic photos of the surface of Mars with a resolution of 2.5 billion pixels. Photo: NASA

This image was compiled by NASA from 1,118 photos taken from the Mastcam-Z camera system mounted on the Perseverance robot - NASA's most advanced autonomous robot, launched to Mars from Cape Canaveral on July 30, 2020. The photos were taken between June 12 and 20.

The new 2.5 billion-pixel color-processed version of the Mars panorama weighs 3.85 GB and has a resolution that far surpasses the Gale crater panorama from the Curiosity rover in 2020 (1.8 billion pixels). .

In the photo, we can clearly see the entire landscape of Mars including rocks, sedimentary rocks, hills, cliffs, sand, sky and part of the rover. Viewers also get a firsthand look at an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars, an important place to explore due to its history of containing water.

Perseverance's mission is to search for signs of ancient microbial life to answer the question of whether Mars ever had microbial life, paving the way for humans to explore the Red Planet in the future.

Currently, the Autonomous Robot is collecting samples in the delta to bring back to Earth for future research.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 14 July 2024