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 __________________________________________________________________ [12]< | [13]Archive | [14]Submissions | [15]Index | [16]Search | [17]Calendar | [18]RSS | [19]Education | [20]About APOD | [21]Discuss | [22]> __________________________________________________________________ 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/