NASA posts first color image from Mars rover

NASA on Friday posted its first color image from the Mars rover Perseverance that landed on the red planet the day prior. 

“An open horizon, with so much to explore. Can’t wait to get going,” NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Twitter account tweeted. 

An open horizon, with so much to explore. Can’t wait to get going. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/hAaxeVGs04

— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021

The $3 billion NASA mission has paid off after Perseverance had a rough landing, with the minutes leading up to Perseverance’s touchdown being called “seven minutes of terror.”

NASA’s Hallie Gengl described the pictures as “really high resolution” compared to what NASA has seen from rovers on previous missions to Mars. 

NASA’s Hallie Gengl shows the first color image from the surface of Mars. pic.twitter.com/IABhkE4aWa

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 19, 2021

The pictures sent from Perseverance are the first color photos from the surface of Mars, Gengl said. 

Perseverance had a seven-month trip from Earth to Mars, and will spend the rest of its life gathering data on the planet’s weather and other information.