NASA Unveils First 360-Degree Panorama of Mars Taken by Perseverance Rover

NASA on Wednesday released the first 360-degree panoramic view taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars.

It's the first high-definition image was taken by Mastcam-Z from Jezero Crater after rotating the rover's mast, or "head," 360 degrees.

The Perseverance rover landed on Feb. 18 near an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life.

It will spend the next two years exploring the dry river delta and drilling into rocks that may hold evidence of life 3 billion to 4 billion years ago.

The core samples will be set aside for return to Earth in a decade.

NASA added 25 cameras to the $3 billion mission — the most ever sent to Mars.

The space agency's previous rover, 2012′s Curiosity, managed only jerky, grainy stop-motion images, mostly of terrain.

Curiosity is still working. So is NASA's InSight lander, although it's hampered by dusty solar panels.

They may have company in late spring, when China attempts to land its own rover, which went into orbit around Mars two weeks ago.

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[georgerobson]

The commercial was longer than the video

[jeffperkins]

The earth is flat surrounded by the firmament of GOD. Anywho if they nasa can’t get back to the moon. What would make you think they could make it to Mars.