NASA’s Perseverance rover recently captured a striking selfie on Mars — and unintentionally photographed a passing dust devil in the process.
The swirling dust column appeared as a faint puff about 3 miles (5 kilometers) behind the rover during its photo session earlier this month. The image, released Wednesday, is a composite made from 59 individual shots taken by the camera mounted on Perseverance’s robotic arm, according to NASA.
Capturing the full set of images took about an hour, but the effort paid off, said Megan Wu, an imaging scientist with Malin Space Science Systems, the company behind the rover’s camera.
“The dust devil in the background makes this a standout image,” Wu said.
The photo also showcases a new borehole drilled by the rover — part of its mission to collect Martian rock samples. This milestone image comes as Perseverance completes 1,500 sols (Martian days), which equals 1,541 Earth days.
Now coated in reddish Martian dust after drilling into numerous rocks, the rover has been exploring Jezero Crater since its 2020 launch. The crater, once home to a lake and river delta, is believed to be a prime location to search for signs of ancient microbial life.
The samples it’s collecting are intended for future return missions to Earth.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
