Interesting Photo of the Day: First Self-Portrait from Mars

Interesting Photos  •  Portrait Photography

Taking self-portraits may be popular with Facebook users, and as one our previous photo of the day posts illustrates, even pets are doing it. But today’s photo, issued by NASA, takes self-portraiture to a new dimension: space. NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover recently took a number of pictures of itself and the surrounding Mars landscape with its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Mastcam, which were stitched together to create the sweeping, highly detailed panorama you see below:

Mars Rover Beams Back First Self Portrait from Mars (Click to See Larger Size)

The Mast Camera, or Mastcam, consists of two camera systems mounted on a mast extending upward from the rover’s deck, providing height and perspective. The camera can take high-definition video, in addition to high-resolution photos, and transmit them back to earth. To do a little space exploration yourself, check out the interactive version of this panorama here.