Science

Nasa releases new colour images of the surface of Mars

Mars Perseverance Rover shows photo of barren and dusty landscape

NASA handout photo of the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Thursday. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/PA Wire
Fri Feb 19 2021 - 19:55

Nasa's Mars Perseverance Rover has transmitted its first colour images of the surface of the red planet.

One picture shared via its Twitter account showed a barren and dusty landscape and the shadow of the rover across the ground.

Speaking at a Nasa press conference to announce the images, Hallie Gengl, instrument data systems operation lead for the space agency's Multimission Image-Processing Laboratory, said: "This is our first colour front Haz-Cam [hazard camera] image and our first colour image from the surface of Mars."

A statement on the rover’s Twitter account said: “An open horizon, with so much to explore. Can’t wait to get going.”

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NASA handout photo of the descent stage holding NASAs Perseverance rover as it falls through the Martian atmosphere before it touched down on Mars. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/PA Wire
NASA handout high-resolution image showing one of the six wheels aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after it touched down on Mars on Thursday. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/PA Wire

Another image taken by the rover shared on Twitter showed what appeared to be yellow rocks next to one of the vehicle’s wheels.

The “rover” tweeted: “I love rocks. Look at these right next to my wheel. Are they volcanic or sedimentary? What story do they tell? Can’t wait to find out.”