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NASA’s Curiosity rover captured the first image of Earth and Mars’ moon Phobos together from the surface of Mars. The composite was taken by the rover’s Mastcam on September 5, 2024 (Sol 4,295), and NASA published it on September 13, 2024.
What Curiosity’s image shows
In the view, Earth is setting as Phobos rises above the Martian landscape. The scene includes Texoli, a butte on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. NASA describes Mount Sharp as about 3 miles (5 kilometers) tall; Curiosity has been climbing it since 2014.
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Earth and Phobos appear as tiny points rather than detailed worlds. NASA’s presentation includes the full Mastcam scene and an inset that enlarges the area containing the two objects. The inset is a magnified portion of the same image, not a second observation or a separate camera view. From the rover’s perspective, NASA notes, the inset region would be about half the width of a thumb held at arm’s length.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The word “together” describes their appearance in one image, not a physical closeness: Earth is far beyond Mars, while Phobos orbits Mars.
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Why the image is a composite
Curiosity’s Mastcam combined five short exposures with 12 long exposures to produce the image. That approach brings together the surrounding scene and the faint celestial objects in one composite. It is not a single ordinary exposure in which Earth and Phobos are plainly visible at the same scale as the landscape.
NASA does not describe the image as a discovery of either object. Its significance is the view: Earth and a Martian moon captured in the same image from the Martian surface.
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What “first-ever” means—and what it doesn’t
NASA identifies this as the first image of Earth and Phobos captured together from the surface of Mars. The qualifier matters. It does not mean Curiosity had never photographed Earth, that Phobos had never been imaged, or that no spacecraft had ever photographed either object. Nor is it the first time Earth and a moon have appeared together in a Curiosity image.
In 2014, Curiosity photographed Earth alongside Earth’s Moon. The 2024 image is different: it shows Earth and Mars’ moon Phobos.
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| Detail | 2014 image | 2024 image |
|---|---|---|
| Objects shown | Earth and Earth’s Moon | Earth and Phobos |
| Observation date | January 31, 2014 (Sol 529) | September 5, 2024 (Sol 4,295) |
| Scene | Earth and its Moon in the evening sky, about 80 minutes after sunset | Earth setting as Phobos rises |
| NASA publication date | February 6, 2014 | September 13, 2024 |
For the 2014 view, Earth and Mars were about 99 million miles (160 million kilometers) apart. That earlier photograph is why the 2024 milestone should not be described as Curiosity’s first picture of Earth. The distinction is which moon appears with Earth.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A Martian view of a familiar point of light
The image puts a familiar sight—Earth seen from another planet—into the same frame as one of Mars’ two moons, with the terrain Curiosity has been exploring below. It is a striking perspective and an imaging milestone, rather than evidence of a new celestial object or a newly discovered phenomenon.
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NASA’s Photojournal entry provides the image and caption. The earlier Earth-and-Moon view is documented by NASA/JPL’s 2014 image record and its coverage of Curiosity’s evening-sky observation.
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