Since its thrilling landing on Mars on August 26 (2012), the Curiosity rover has been sending amazing images from the Martian surface.
The Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)
The Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) is a fixed-focus colour camera on the fore-port side of the rover. Its optical axis points towards the +Z direction (i.e., towards the Martian ground).
The camera took 1600 x 1200 pixel images at 5fps during the time between the separation of the heat shields and touchdown.
A video showing the descent of Curiosity to the surface of Mars was made using high-resolution images taken by the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) during the descent.
Curiosity Descent Video
The video is colour-corrected with smooth motion and interpolated from 4 fps (frames per second) to 30 fps. The video plays in real time to show the descending speed of Curiosity.
The HiRISE camera took this incredible image of the Curiosity rover making a parachute landing.
8-Bit Version of the Descent
Credits: NASA, Bard Canning
