For the first time this year, Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted its robotic companion on the surface of the red planet. The orbiting spacecraft captured a shot of Curiosity near the base of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. But interestingly, the rover’s tracks are not visible - possibly because they have been swept away by the Martian weather. The HiRise camera is able to take images of the surface with a resolution of 10 inches (25cm) per pixel, allowing it to spot the rover on the surface. It is seen here in the full image, circled. The rover is parked over dark sand in a valley with light-toned outcrops of rock . The image was taken using the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRise) camera on the Martian satellite, from a height of 187 miles (300km) above the surface. The rover's top speed is 1.5 inches (3.8 centimetres) per second. Curiosity is the fourth rover to visit Mars. It took around seven minutes to land on the Red Planet. The rover is fitted with 17 cameras. It weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper at approximately 900kg (2,000lbs). Scientists considered 60 possible landing sites before deciding on Gale Crater. It is not the first time it has spotted Curiosity, or indeed other rovers, on the surface - but it is the first time in 2015. The HiRise camera is able to take images of the surface with a resolution of 10 inches (25cm) per pixel, allowing it to see Curiosity, which is the size of a car. In this image the rover is parked over dark sand in a valley with light-toned outcrops of rock. These rocks are part of the Pahrump Hills in the Murray Formation, which is an area of sandstones, siltstones and calcium sulphate veins on the surface. They are the lowest exposed rocks of Mount Sharp - also known as Aeolis Mons - which Nasa is planning to send Curiosity up at some point. In the image the rover had recently completed a drive of about 75ft (23 metres) during its 949th day on Mars - also known as a sol. North is towards the top in the image, with the entire view spanning about 1,640ft (500 metres) across. Curiosity has been driving a route through an area called Artist’s Drive, on its way to the higher layers of Mount Sharp after examining Pahrump Hills. Its ultimate science destination, Logan Pass, is at the bottom left of the image. Nasa scientists in California have revealed a distant image of Curiosity (shown). It was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from 187 miles up. One interesting aspect is that the rover's tracks cannot be seen. This may be due to Martian weather or they blend in with the surface . Here's the view from the surface: Curiosity took this image of Artist's Drive around a similar time that the MRO spacecraft spotted it from orbit. The rover is now on its way to a region called Logan Pass . Aside from keeping track of the rover, this image also allows scientists to monitor nearby sand dunes. And the absence of the rover’s tracks also hints at one of two possibilities. It may be that Martian wind has swept them away, or it could be that the dark sand dug up by the wheels as they move is a similar colour to the surface, and thus indistinguishable. The last time Curiosity was spotted from orbit was more than four months ago. Another benefit of taking this sort of image is to find upcoming landmarks that might be of interest for the rover. Curiosity has now been on Mars for almost 1,000 days, having landed on 6 August 2012. Shown here is a mosaic of images creating a self-portrait of the rover, which makes it look like someone else has taken it .
Nasa scientists in California have revealed a distant image of Curiosity taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
It was taken from an altitude of 187 miles (300km) up, revealing where the rover is heading towards.
One interesting aspect is that the rover's tracks cannot be seen behind it in the image.
This may be due to Martian weather or that they are the same colour as the surrounding surface.