The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Tuesday released its first color photo from Mars and a video showing over two minutes of its dive through the atmosphere, and spacecraft landing. NASA's Curiosity rover took the picture on the first day on the surface after touching down on Mars Sunday night. It took the shot with a camera at the end of its robotic arm, which remained stowed. As Curiosity plunged through the atmosphere, a video camera captured the final moments. Nearly 300 low-quality thumbnails were sent back on Monday, which NASA processed into a short video. The recording began with the protective heat shield falling away and ended with dust being kicked up as the rover was lowered by cables inside a crater on Mars. It was a preview of a spacecraft touchdown on another planet, since it will take some time before high-resolution frames are transmitted, depending on other priorities.
