NASA’s Curiosity Rover Celebrates 5,000 Martian Days With Dual-Time Mars Panorama

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a striking view of Mars from a sandy ridge called “Chocolatal,” marking its 5,000th and 5,003rd Martian days, or sols, on the Red Planet.

Curiosity’s Morning and Afternoon Views of Mars

Using its black-and-white navigation camera, Curiosity took two panoramas while parked on Chocolatal. The first image was captured on August 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. Mars local time. The second was taken on September 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time.

After the images were transmitted to Earth, they were combined into a single artistic panorama. Blue represents the morning view, while yellow represents the afternoon view. The resulting “postcard” follows a format used in previous Curiosity rover panoramas, including one photographed in November 2021.

What’s Visible on Curiosity’s Deck?

Curiosity’s deck is visible in the foreground. It includes the can-shaped ultra-high-frequency (UHF) antenna used to transmit data to orbiting spacecraft, along with the nuclear-powered, finned multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) at the rear of the rover.

The rover’s path can also be seen disappearing into the distance across the Martian landscape.

Curiosity’s View From Mount Sharp

Curiosity is exploring the base of Mount Sharp, a 5-kilometer (3-mile) high mountain located inside Gale Crater. The panorama looks down toward the crater floor, while the crater rim is barely visible along the horizon.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Mission

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is managed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

Learn more about NASA’s Curiosity rover and its exploration of Mars below.