New NASA Image Depicts Mars Rover's Lonely Journey From Above

A recent snapshot from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) offers a brand-new look at the Curiosity rover's Martian journey. Published Thursday, the image depicts Curiosity's snail-like tracks on the Red Planet's dusty terrain. The rover itself appears as a tiny dot at the bottom of the tracks, revealing just how long and lonely its trek really is.

The MRO's HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera captured the image on Feb. 28, 2025—Curiosity's 4,466th sol. At the time, Curiosity was making its way from the Gediz Vallis channel to the foothills of lower Mount Sharp, where a complex network of ridges might inform Mars' watery history. The rover is still making that journey, but it wasn't quite as far along by then, stunted by its 0.1 mile-per-hour maximum speed.

Because Curiosity was still in the earlier half of its latest road ...