NASA’s Curiosity rover has sent back a new panorama from high on the slopes of Mount Sharp, offering a striking view of the Martian landscape and fresh clues about the planet’s ancient past.
The image was captured in November 2025 and shows how sunlight changes across a single Martian day, highlighting subtle surface features.
Curiosity combined images taken in the morning and afternoon to create a scene with warm and cool colour tones.
According to NASA, the panorama was assembled from black and white images captured over two Martian days, known as sols, and later colourised to reflect varying lighting conditions.
At the time, the rover was positioned on a ridge above an area known as the boxwork formation. This region contains mineral patterns left behind by groundwater that once flowed through cracks in the rock. NASA said the added colour helps scientists better distinguish surface textures and geological features.
Wind erosion in the area has exposed hardened mineral veins, preserving evidence of past water activity. The panorama also shows Curiosity’s tracks as it continues its climb up Mount Sharp. The view looks north toward the crater floor, with the distant rim visible on the horizon.
More than 13 years after landing on Mars, Curiosity continues to drill rocks, study the landscape and gather data on how the planet shifted from a wetter environment to the cold world seen today.