Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 June 7
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                     Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity
               Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]MSSS

   Explanation: On the Mars rover's mission Sol 46 or Earth date April 6,
   2021, Perseverance held out a robotic arm to take [6]its first selfie
   on Mars. The WATSON camera at the end of the arm was designed to take
   close-ups of Martian rocks and surface details though, and not a quick
   snap shot of friends and smiling faces. In the end, [7]teamwork and
   weeks of planning on Mars time was required to program a complex series
   of exposures and camera motions to include Perseverance and its
   surroundings. The resulting 62 frames were composed into a detailed
   mosaic, one of the most complicated Mars rover selfies ever taken. In
   this version of the [8]selfie, the rover's Mastcam-Z and SuperCam
   instruments are looking toward WATSON and the end of the rover's
   outstretched arm. About 4 meters (13 feet) from Perseverance is a
   robotic companion, [9]the Mars Ingenuity helicopter. Perseverance has
   now spent over 1,500 sols [10]exploring the surface of the Red Planet.
   On Earth date January 18, 2024, Ingenuity made its 72nd and [11]final
   flight through the thin Martian atmosphere.

                     Tomorrow's picture: Facing NGC 3344
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC,
                         [32]NASA Science Activation
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2506/PIA24542_fig2.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   5. http://www.msss.com/
   6. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/perseverances-selfie-with-ingenuity
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/watch-and-hear-how-nasa-s-perseverance-rover-took-its-first-selfie
   8. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
   9. https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/
  10. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/devils-in-details-in-selfie-taken-by-nasas-mars-perseverance-rover/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240210.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250606.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250607
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250608.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/