You may not
recognize it, but this green and blue pixelated splotch is Earth.
This image
was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from over 700,000 miles away three
days after it launched. The NASA spacecraft was pointed toward Earth and the
Mars Color Imager camera was used to take several color and ultraviolet images
of Earth and the Moon.
The reason
for taking pictures of Earth was to help the Mars Color Imager science team make
sure it was working correctly and to measure the instrument’s sensitivity in
space.
When this
image was taken, the Sun was illuminating the planet from the left, lighting up
North America.
Once the
Mars Color Imager gets to Mars, it will take daily global and color ultraviolet
images of the planet and observe how the planet’s surface changes over time. It
will also keep an eye on Martian meteorology by documenting the occurrence of
dust storms, clouds, and ozone.
