NASA’s Curiosity rover just hit 5,000 days on Mars and sent back this stunning view

NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a striking new view of Mars as it passed a major mission milestone: 5,000 Martian days on the Red Planet.

While stopped at a sandy ridge nicknamed "Chocolatal," Curiosity used its navigation cameras to photograph the surrounding landscape at two different times of day. The cameras normally capture images in black and white.

The first panorama was recorded on Aug. 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. local Mars time, marking the mission's 5,000th Martian day, or sol. A second panorama was taken on Sep. 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time, during Curiosity's 5,003 rd sol.

Morning and Evening Combined Into One Mars View

After the images arrived on Earth, the two panoramas were combined into a single scene. Color was then added as an artistic interpretation, with blue used for the morning view and yellow for the afternoon.