This composite of seven images from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover shows Earth, visible as a small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right, passing behind the Martian moon Phobos on July 2, 2026, 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.<\/p>\n
The black background is the result of image processing that removed extraneous light in the background to enhance detail.<\/p>\n
Figure A\u00a0is an annotated composite of nine images taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard Perseverance on July 2, 2026. The inset on the upper right, comprised of five images, shows Earth \u2014 the small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right \u2014 passing behind the Martian moon Phobos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rectangle outlined at the left in the annotation indicates the patch of sky that was imaged several times to capture Earth passing behind Phobos. In the larger rectangular inset, the images captured from that patch of sky are displayed in time order from left to right, with Phobos moving up and Earth moving down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The gray of the Martian sky is the approximate true color of the twilight (about 40 minutes after sunset) on that sol. It is blue-gray lower, where it is brighter, and reddish gray above.<\/p>\n
Figure B\u00a0includes annotations showing the local solar time on Mars during which the five individual images that captured the occultation were taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is managed by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, as part of NASA\u2019s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Arizona State University leads the operations of the rover\u2019s Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras.<\/p>\n
For more about Perseverance:<\/p>\n