Mars Exploration Rover Spirit’s 360–Degree Photograph

Atop “Husband Hill” inside Gusev Crater, NASA’s Spirit rover took hundreds of images, which engineers used to assemble this unusual view of Mars in 2005—part self–portrait and part panoramic landscape. After nearly 600 sols (Martian days), Spirit appeared relatively clean, with only a light layer of dust on its solar panels. Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity far outlasted their expected lifespans and returned stunning images and scientific data.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell