Curiosity rover takes high-resolution self-portrait on Mars

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpi-costerni/8161111001/in/photostream

The ZERO stitching ERROR composition, full resolution and optimized version is ready, I have just posted it here, in 2 versions, one wider and one cropped:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpi-costerni/8160107814/in/photostream/

Nov 6, 2012permalink

Victor Engel

I still think the best pictures from Mars were the stereo pictures taken in the 70s. I used to check out the Mars book with included stereo viewer regularly from the local library. With the leaps and bounds of technology development since the 70s, what we're getting back should be better than what we're getting. Just my opinion.

Nov 6, 2012permalink

stereopanDOTcom

You can check this Mars Rover self portrait image out in a high-resolution zoomable format here http://www.3d-360.com/117921flat

Nov 5, 2012permalink

D-Man67

And also the individual shots here.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=85&camera=MAHLI

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Henrikw

The link doesn't work

Nov 5, 2012permalink

WellyNZ

This still blows me away. This is the surface of another planet we're looking at. I don't think I'll take that idea for granted.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

I see tentacle.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Slanicka Tomas

On the left side there are six shoeprints. Maybe Martians have tentacles and maybe they have foots. ;)

Nov 5, 2012permalink

jgilber0

:) I saw those too!!

Nov 10, 2012permalink

Michael Ma

I'm reminded every day by this rover just how fortunate we are to live on a planet like Earth. Blue skies and oceans, green landscapes, and every hue, saturation, and luminosity available to us from nature. Imagine if we lived on Mars and we put on probe on Earth. Every cell of my being would have an endless yearning to be at such a beautiful world one day, even if it was just for a second. But we are already here. Wow, what a incredible gift!

Nov 5, 2012permalink

magneto shot

u can thank God for that

Nov 5, 2012permalink

NDT0001

I totally agree with you, and that is why i cant understand why humans insist on polluting and destroying the earth.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

NDT0001

It is also quite poignant and telling that the VERY FIRST THING that we humans did when we arrived on mars was pollute the planet by dropping a piece of plastic on the surface which had detached off the Curiosity robot. (The 'shiny object' which the cameras spotted) God save us.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

WellyNZ

You're hilarious, magneto shot. You're no longer in the dark ages, you realise?

Nov 5, 2012permalink

NDT0001

Wow WellyNZ, lets start mocking peoples religious beliefs, that always ends well.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Goodmeme

this is a photography forum and website. While I agree that humans find the earth pleasing to look at sometimes - especially shades of blue and green indicating fertile land - shall we try to leave religion out of it please. You think one thing, you 'know' you're right, thank cognitive dissonance for that. But saying it here is essentially spam.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Victor Engel

Earth is more beautiful to you precisely because that's where you grew up. Your very essence has been calibrated over the eons to take maximum advantage of what is available. If you had the same background but on a Martian setting, you'd be able to see things on Mars we don't, and Earth would look bland by comparison.

Nov 6, 2012permalink

mgblack74

This just in: Ryan Brenizer on Mars!

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Cani

I am surprised : no whining about the absence of bokeh?

Joke aside, what's in front and on the left of the rover? Meteorites?

Nov 4, 2012permalink

intruder61

lol.....next planet.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

micahmedia

Higher res: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16239

Nov 4, 2012permalink

UponQuai

And the camera is that big ?

Nov 4, 2012permalink

lightandday

Sorry Kodak - we let you down !

Nov 4, 2012permalink

offshore13

was this a self portrait or is there someone or some marsian taking the picture? I'm just curious where the camera connection is

Nov 4, 2012permalink

marsbar

MAHLI was tha camera used to take the image:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/missions/images/MSL-payload-fi.jpg

This high res image shows stitching misalignment near that area of the rover:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16239.jpg

no martian, just cleaver stitching to give more pleasant looking image.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

yudhir

I see 'Duck face'

Nov 4, 2012permalink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Network

I see turkey behinds.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Jostian

where's the arm holding the camera?? mmm...

Nov 4, 2012permalink

JOrtiz

It seems that there is no wind in Mars, because as dusty as the floor looks there is no signs of dust on top of Curiosity.
. . .and still do not understand what is all that lot of money doing in Mars when the conditions, even in desertic parts of our land need to be taken care of.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

blohum

because as a race we need to keep moving forward... if we didn't we'd still all be sat in caves saying "I don't understand why I need one of these 'wheel' things"...

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Steve Ives

I don't understand your issue. The money used to build Curiosity never left Earth so it's still here to be used.

Nov 5, 2012*permalink

happypoppeye

1) Well, seeing how Mr Rover is no way connected to the camera, this pretty much proves life on mars as there has to be someone else taking the shot.

2) Self portrait? ...Ha, very "popular page instagramee"

Nov 4, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

Amazing.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

rowlandw

So where is the DP review of this camera???

Nov 4, 2012permalink

cordellwillis

LOL It's not a camera phone so they're not interested in reviewing it :)

Nov 4, 2012*permalink

D-Man67

The images were transmitted, so it would qualify.
Rover uses the "Deep Space Network" service.

They have a further reach than the AT&T international service. :-)

Nov 5, 2012permalink

hc44

Yes, 'self-shots' are very popular now.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

John Koch

A 2MP 1" CCD sensor might be ideal for video: global shutter, no "jello," downsampling or moiré, better DR and more light capture than small 1/2.3" sensors.

Why never offered in a non Martian videocam? Too advanced for mere Earthings?

Meanwhile, scratch Mars from the list of "places to see before you die." Looks like a place to die, and a bad one at that. Earth has deadly places too, albeit ones with more oxygen, tolerable air pressure, less extreme temperatures, occasional water, prettier vistas, and more bearable round-trip travel options.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

>a bad one at that

Right on target. I hate space -- murdering X-radiation; matter beams ripping along at near-light speeds; boiling landscapes; sulfuric-acid atmospheres; inconceivably high pressures; dead, cratered, barren, frigid, lightless planets; life-shattering gamma-ray bursts, etc. A big fooey on that.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

buckshot

awesome

Nov 4, 2012permalink

Stujoe

Looks like it was built in someones garage. If that someone had unlimited money and was a genius nerd.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

BobYIL

I wonder if it is possible to "eliminate" the robotic arm in a composite picture.. I was expecting to see a portion of the "arm" at least as an OOF subject.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Sebastian Z

After so many months in space, those wheels are so clean...no dust at all, makes you wonder do they have rover washing stations on mars, or that thing just drives in somebody's living room with fake background...

Nov 3, 2012permalink

tbcass

Mars is very dry. Dry soil or sand does not stick but instead falls off.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

TLD

I was surprised to see _any_ dust sticking to the treads because there is supposed to be no moisture.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Sebastian Z

I have spent 2 weeks in Sahara desert, not a drop of moisture, I was one dirty monkey with dust all over, not a clean spot on me after just 2 days... But Mars is different I guess.;)

Nov 3, 2012permalink

and I thought they were hoping to strike water up there?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/8399142031/photos/2299302/curiosity_1rst_photo

"not dust at all"?
No Sebastian Z.
There is some dust and veil of dust everywhere, and some very little stones too.
Also the MAHLI camera have already some dust on the front lens, not much, but begin to became a little disturbing.

Nov 4, 2012*permalink

micahmedia

Static.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

mrxak

I still can't quite get over the sky crane maneuver. This robot is pretty much the coolest thing our species has ever done.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Mollysnoot2

Agreed. I honestly didn't think it would work as there were so many things that could potentially go wrong on the descent (although I was really hoping that it would), and was keeping a close eye on the news to hear if it made it... And of course, it worked flawlessly. Outstanding engineering.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Andystack

I was checking out a full size model of Curiosity recently, what the photo does not convey how is how big this thing is.

Nov 3, 2012*permalink

Andystack

NASA engineers have explained many times why they chose the equipment that's on the rover, there is even an article here on DPR with all the answers. In fact you can click on the mike ravine interview above .

Nov 3, 2012*permalink

Dpreviewmember

Glad that a NUCLEAR robot is not on the loose in our planet.

How do Martians feel about it ?

check this 1rst color high resolution photo to find out

;-)

Nov 3, 2012permalink

do7slash

dpreview, the only place where the commentards complain when a nuclear robot on another planet doesn't have enough megapixels...

Grow up you idiots, you know who you are.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

I think you willl find the comments about the 2MP/hi-res thing were simply questioning the attribution "hi-res" to 2MP. They were not complaining about any lack of megapixels.

As to "idiots" - do you include yourself, or is that only the other people?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

I know who I am. I'm Timmy O'Sullivan. No I'm not! Don't confuse me.

Nov 5, 2012permalink

Serenity Now

"NASA is not that smart"

They put a vehicle on Mars you idiot.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

WilliamJ

It was clearly a joke, can't you understand such a simple piece of humour ? Oh, my ! In that case, I suggest you to stop right now judging (and insulting) everything beyond your understanding.

Nov 4, 2012permalink

rondhamalam

Why stitching 55 images of 2MP while they can make out of only 4 images using D800.

NASA is not that smart.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

BasicImage

There was an article before the launch of the rover discussing about why they chose to use such ja low res camera (by earthly standards).

Without reading it, my humble guess is that sending 55 2mpix files back to Earth might be a bit less frustrating than sending 4 30+ mpix files. I would guess they didn't make a download manager for the rover to support resuming downloads if the connection happened to break.

I might be totally wrong, just guessing.

Nevertheless, framing, capturing and stitching those 55 files together to create such a flawless image is simply an astonishing achievement especially when the camera is on another planet.

Nov 3, 2012*permalink

mgrum

Firstly the hardware for the rover was chosen back in 2005, when there were no 36MP DSLRs around. Secondly they chose a chip that they knew the properties of very well, that just happens to be 2MP. Thirdly if they want resolution they can just do a composite like this one.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

MarkByland

I really like people that have absolutely no idea what they're talking about and complain.

The next time you use a re-chargeable battery, repeat your last statement.

Nov 3, 2012*permalink

ebosch

"NASA is not that smart"
So you think you're so smart?
try sending a probe with a camera to another planet and transferring the files back to earth.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Sure, NASA are not that smart, otherwise why didn't they invent a time machine, nip forwards in time to grab a Nikon D800, then go back in time and install it into the 2004/2005 designed rover. Dumber and dumber?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

tbcass

I understand what you are saying but what would prevent them from redesigning and making the camera a few months or a year before launch. Makes no sense to me. Maybe the rover computer can't handle larger files. Also back in 2005 8 mp cameras were common.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Mollysnoot2

They were worried about getting one that wouldn't focus on the left-hand side.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

actually the comment about left-side focus is not so far off the mark. Whatever they bolt onto the rover, it has to have been through so many hoops first to prove its ultimate reliability and ruggedness, and they have to understand its every bit and bolt. So you can't just swap out a camera for a 'better' one after they closed the door on the proving stages.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

WilliamJ

Poor rondhamalam ! You can see here how telling a joke is a hard mission sometimes. So many so-serious comment about a simple piece of humour that is yet clearly what it is !

Maybe should I be aware taking (too much ?) photos is not so good for our mental health....

Nov 4, 2012permalink

UponQuai

Ha ha ha ha .... only the answer from WilliamJ does make sense. All others just wet their pants struggle to grow up :)

Nov 4, 2012permalink

thejohnnerparty

Why don't I see an arm in the photo?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

peevee1

Because it is a composite of 55 photos.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Lee Dolman

why would a composite not show the arm? it has to be present in each photo used in the composite. The point at which the arm exits the rover must be present in the photos. There qre still many people who think its not actually where they say it is of course.

Nov 3, 2012*permalink

try starting your research at the first comment posted, way down below.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

avbee

2 mp is high resolution due to far distances.....

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Absolutic

Blown highlights I see....

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Mollysnoot2

Me too. NASA needs to keep an eye on the histograms, and shoot raw!! ;-)

Nov 3, 2012permalink

The Davinator

Made up of "55 high resolution images"...since when did 2mp shots become high rez?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

John_Spencer

One remarkable thing that no-one has commented on- there are no foreground/background mismatches due to parallax. That means that the arm was manipulated to point the camera in 55 different directions while keeping the optical center of the camera in the same 3-dimensional location. Quite a technical tour de force! I can never get that right with Photosynth...

Nov 3, 2012permalink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover

Absolutely not true!
Look more carefully the image at full resolution.
There are many stitching errors everywhere, but particulary on the rover itself.
I have already commented this and made my quick verision of this composition in Flickr, yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpi-costerni/8148100978/in/photostream/lightbox/

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Valen305

What? No duck face?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

wutsurstyle

I like how the tire tread marks make no sense at all.. looks like the curiosity is a bit lost (no road map eh?) or taking ballroom lessons on Mars (okay lead with foot number 6..oops).

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Valen305

Maybe its using apple maps! lol

Nov 3, 2012permalink

imcolin

It was a Martian wearing wellies not tire tread marks

Nov 5, 2012permalink

wutsurstyle

The camera seems like it is suspended in air because it is a Composite (stitched) photo create with 55 different photos taken at 55 Different angles (of the robotic arm). Just like how some cameras can stitch a panorama shot and erase some people walking around. Same concept.

Nov 3, 2012permalink

graybalanced

I see the rover used the fabled "MySpace angle"

Nov 2, 2012permalink

Shunda77

So the arm is not attached to the buggy in the picture? I can't see where it joins on!

Nov 2, 2012permalink

Tee1up

I am looking at it as well wondering where is the arm? Bounced off a mirror?

Nov 3, 2012permalink

Lee Jay

Have a look at the two images on the right:

Nov 3, 2012permalink

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpi-costerni/8148100978/in/photostream/lightbox/

I have posted my version of this panorama in Flickr, here:

I have not had more than 1 hour of time to do this composition, I could have done better using missing shots.
The single shots posted by NASA-JPL have not all the same exposure and there are also abnormal reflections in the upper part of the rover that I have not removed.
But look at the parts of the rover in the lower left.
The stitching defects are much less obvious, you can make the comparison with the NASA version.

Nov 2, 2012*permalink

King Penguin

You did well..........

Nov 2, 2012permalink

falconeyes

Hi, I did a similiar job. Less stitching erros and overall nicer image too :)

The original source for the RAW images (55 pieces) has not much landscape ( http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=84&camera=MAHLI ). I used the next day's RAW images (57 pieces, http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=85&camera=MAHLI ). This yields a yet unpublished hi-rez self portrait images but has some small holes I need to fill first.

Nov 3, 2012permalink