New Mars Photos Add To 130 Photo Curiosity Panorama

The Curiosity rover sent to the planet Mars earlier this month has been snapping photos since it first set down upon the surface, creating now a 130 photo panorama of the crater in which it currently resides. Here we're seeing some surprisingly sharp photos taken with the cameras which we learned about last week, each of them lovely in their own respect. As the Curiosity rover travels through the Gale Crater it will continue to create individual shots as well as a larger panorama – one at first, then more as it moves through its environment.

The landscape here is barren, of course, and red as the nickname the planet retains. Here you've got 79 images making up just part of the full 130 photo panorama stitched together by NASA and the camera aboard the rover. The rest of the images are currently headed back to Earth, the delay having to do with the data limit NASA is bound to – see the camera post linked above for more information. You'll be able to see the full stitched image by clicking the preview here.

The full panorama was photographed back on August 9th in relatively quick succession. Each of the photos are being sent one after the other to NASA and the full image should be constructed by the end of the week. Meanwhile the rover continues its mission to study the planet with readings of the environment and samples of material from the atmosphere and surface.

Check out our Curiosity timeline below to see what else this lovely Mars rover has been up to in the short amount of time it's been on the planet, and give a hand to NASA as they continue to make their way – and our way – into space!

[via NASA]