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Curiosity, Perseverance Deliver 1.5B-Pixel Mars Panoramas 2025-26

4/29/2026

Summary

Mars Rovers Capture Panoramas

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers captured 360-degree panoramas on Mars in 2025-2026.
Curiosity used 1,031 images from Nov 9-Dec 7, 2025 to create a 1.5-billion-pixel view of boxwork ridges.
Perseverance combined 980 images taken Dec 18, 2025-Jan 25, 2026 of the Lac de Charmes area near Jezero Crater.
The rovers sit about 2,345 miles (3,775 km) apart, while Curiosity continues climbing Mount Sharp and has found siderite that may have locked early atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Summary

Rovers Discover Organics

A 2013 drill sample contained three of the largest organic molecules on Mars, likely long-chain hydrocarbons.
Curiosity’s 2020 rock analysis identified 21 carbon-containing molecules, including seven never before seen on Mars, making it the most diverse collection reported from the planet.
In 2024 Perseverance named a rock “Cheyava Falls” whose leopard-spot pattern mirrors textures on Earth, while its view of the “Crocodile Bridge” rim exposed the solar system’s oldest rocks.

Summary

Perseverance Sparks

Perseverance recorded electrical sparks in passing dust devils, confirming a long-theorized phenomenon.
The rover’s mast camera also captured the first visible-light aurora from another planet’s surface.
Perseverance stores 23 intact rock cores in metal tubes and a backup set of 10 tubes in a sample depot for future return.
Curiosity is now studying a mountain layer rich in sulfate minerals after leaving the boxwork region.

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Mars Rovers Capture Panoramas

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers captured 360-degree panoramas on Mars in 2025-2026.
Curiosity used 1,031 images from Nov 9-Dec 7, 2025 to create a 1.5-billion-pixel view of boxwork ridges.
Perseverance combined 980 images taken Dec 18, 2025-Jan 25, 2026 of the Lac de Charmes area near Jezero Crater.
The rovers sit about 2,345 miles (3,775 km) apart, while Curiosity continues climbing Mount Sharp and has found siderite that may have locked early atmospheric carbon dioxide.

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