Nasa's Mars Perseverance snaps a selfie as a Martian dust devil blows by
The latest selfie by Nasa's Perseverance rover ont Mars has captured an unexpected guest: a Martian dust devil.
Resembling a small pale puff, the twirling dust devil popped up three miles behind the rover during this month's photo shoot.
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Released on Wednesday, the selfie is a composite of 59 images taken by the camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm, according to Nasa.
It took an hour to perform all the arm movements necessary to gather the images, 'but it's worth it', said Megan Wu, an imaging scientist from Malin Space Science Systems, which built the camera.
'Having the dust devil in the background makes it a classic,' Ms Wu said in a statement.
Did you know that I use self-driving autonomy on Mars?
My AutoNav system helps me scan for hazards and chart a safe course in real time based on parameters from my team back home. This was built on decades of work, shaped by lessons from rovers that came before me.
pic.twitter.com/GWPkmwpE8v
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere)
May 2, 2025
The picture — which also shows the rover's latest sample borehole on the surface — marks 1,500 sols or Martian days for Perseverance. That is equivalent to 1,541 days on Earth.
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Perseverance is covered with red dust, the result of drilling into dozens of rocks.
Launched in 2020, it is collecting samples for eventual return to Earth from Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed and river delta that could hold clues of any past microbial life.
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