Space

Curiosity Captures Panorama of Gale Crater Floor After Reaching 1‑km Elevation Milestone

By Mirage News

NASA’s Curiosity rover took a panoramic view of the floor of Gale Crater on Sept. 5, 2026, the 5,006th Martian day (sol) of the mission. The image shows the crater’s rim in the distance and includes a sand ridge in the foreground and a trench left by the rover’s right‑front wheel. The panorama, composed of 95 images from Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam), has been color‑adjusted to match Earth‑like lighting. Curiosity had reached a mission milestone nine days earlier, on Aug. 26 (sol 4,996), when it climbed to 1 km above the crater floor. Since 2014 the rover has been ascending the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 5‑km‑tall mountain inside Gale Crater. Geologic layering and sand‑grain characteristics in the ridge will help scientists understand its formation. Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by Caltech in Pasadena, and Mastcam was built and operated by Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. JPL leads the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate as part of the Mars Exploration Program.