APOD: 2026 October 3 – Selfie at Vera Rubin Ridge - NASA Science
Reported by NASA Science · October 3, 2026
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day features a panoramic selfie taken by the Curiosity rover at Vera Rubin Ridge.
The image was captured on the rover’s 1,943rd Martian day, corresponding to January 23, 2018, on Earth. A Martian day lasts about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day.
The panorama combines 61 images made with Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager. Editors removed views of the camera arm, and the surrounding background came from the rover’s Mastcam.
The scene was also assembled as an interactive 360-degree virtual reality view. NASA’s daily feature pairs a space image with an explanation by a professional astronomer.
Key points
- Curiosity photographed itself near Vera Rubin Ridge’s southern edge on its 1,943rd Martian day.
- The rover’s 61-image panorama was captured with its Mars Hand Lens Imager.
- The image also appears as an interactive 360-degree virtual reality scene.