NASA has highlighted a composite selfie captured by the Curiosity rover on the south rim of Vera Rubin Ridge on Mars. The panoramic portrait was recorded on sol 1943 of the mission, which corresponded to Earth date January 23, 2018. A Martian solar day, or sol, lasts about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day.
The panorama is a mosaic combining 61 exposures taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). Frames containing the imager's arm were edited out to produce an unobstructed portrait. To expand the scene, the extended background was taken on sol 1903 by the rover's Mastcam.
In the resulting composite, Curiosity's ChemCam housing sits above the Mastcam at the top of the rover's mast. Due to the viewing angle, the ChemCam housing blocks out the 5-kilometer-high peak of Mount Sharp in the image.
The panorama documents a key point in Curiosity's traverse across the Martian surface. On August 26, 2026, the rover reached a total elevation gain of 1 kilometer in its journey from the floor of Gale Crater up Mount Sharp.
