NASA’s Perseverance rover beams back its first color photos of Mars

The first photo shows the planet’s horizon and distinctive, orange-colored surface.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

Another picture features one of the rover’s wheels and the nearby Martian rocks.

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“We’ve already received some incredible images from Perseverance,” said Dr. Moogega Cooper, NASA’s Perseverance planetary protection lead, during a live event. “The scientists are filled with such excitement as they discuss the rocks right nearby the wheels.”

A tweet from Perseverance’s Twitter account (which is run by people on Earth) featured a photo of the rocks and expressed excitement about the mission. The rover will store core rock samples in tubes and then deposit them so that future missions can collect them and fly them back to Earth, according to NASA.

“I love rocks. Look at these right next to my wheel. Are they volcanic or sedimentary? What story do they tell? Can’t wait to find out,” the account mused.

One of the more intriguing of the photos is a bit of a selfie and was taken from the rover’s “jetpack,” which eased it down onto the surface of the planet. The Perseverance rover can be seen just above the ground prior to landing.

(NASA via AP)

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Thursday’s landing was a highly anticipated event as it marked only the fifth rover NASA has landed on the red planet. Perseverance will be hunting for signs of microbial life and “paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.”