Mars is known as the “Red Planet,” but it’s even more crimson as of late. The massive dust storm that has fully enveloped the planet is obscuring the Sun and bathing the landscape in a deep shade of blood red.
NASA’s two rovers, Curiosity and Opportunity, have had to deal with the dust storm in their own specific ways. Opportunity shut down due to lack of power and we still don’t know what kind of shape it’s going to be in when the skies finally clear, and while Curiosity’s nuclear power source allows it to continue to work even in the dark, it’s dealing with some serious visibility issues due to the debris in the air.
A newly released photo from the Curiosity rover shows just how dramatic the change in light has become. Just check out these two side-by-side shots of the exact same rock. The photo on the left was taken on May 21st and the one on the right was snapped on June 17th:
“Two images from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’s Curiosity rover depicting the change in the color of light illuminating the Martian surface since a dust storm engulfed Gale Crater,” NASA explains of the photos. “The cherry red color is due to red dust grains in the atmosphere letting red light through to the surface, but not green or blue, and to different exposure times for the two images.” – READ MORE
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