Curiosity rover photographed for the first time from orbit as it moves around the Red Planet

NASA’s Mars Mission Management Team has released the first image of the Curiosity rover in motion from orbit. The image was taken on February 28, 2025, as the rover was making its way to a new scientific site on the Red Planet.

Image source: NASA

The speed at which Curiosity moves across the terrain depends on the terrain and soil type. At the time of the photo, as the data shows, the rover was moving at a speed of 2.6 m/min. The length of the track left by the rover, visible in the photo, is approximately 320 m. Curiosity has covered this distance since February 2 in 11 approaches. The NASA team carefully plans each section and then relies only on the rover’s program, which independently overcomes each stage.

The image from orbit was taken by the HiRISE camera installed on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The camera shoots mostly in black and white with a color stripe down the center of the frame. The Curiosity rover was in the black and white image zone. The rut marks will be visible on the Martian soil for several months, after which wind and dust will sweep them away. For terrestrial science, even such a small detail matters. The dynamics of the disappearance of rut marks allows us to study the weather on Mars, but that’s another story.