Image: The Perseverance rover captures its first sunset on Mars using the Mastcam-Z camera, which features unusual detail

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November 20, 2021 09:05 GMT

Sunsets on the Red Planet are often noticeable because of their distinctive blue color, but this capture was duller than average because there is less dust in the atmosphere.

NASA’s rover has captured an image of an unusual Martian sunset, according to mentioned The US space agency this Wednesday.

This image is the first sunset captured by the camera system Mastkam-Z, put on perseverance mast, which It can zoom, focus and take high-speed 3D photos and videos Allows detailed inspection of remote objects.

Unusual sunset

A characteristic that usually stands out at sunset on the red planet is the presence of a distinctive blue hue. This is because, as NASA explained, “the fine dust in the atmosphere allows blue light to penetrate the atmosphere more efficiently than colors with longer wavelengths.”

However, in this new photo taken by the chariot of persistence, this color can be seen It’s fainter than usual Since then, at that moment, there was less presence of dust in the Martian atmosphere. NASA has determined that the color has been white-calibrated to remove artifacts from the camera.

Previously, NASA ad His rover collected a boulder with greenish mineral, the third that Perseverance has collected since it began its mission in February of this year.

The primary goal of the persistence mission to Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover is tasked with describing the geology of the planet and paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. The collected samples will be brought to Earth during a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency, scheduled for the 2030s.

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