Recently, NASA's Perseverance rover took a brief pause in its expedition to review its journey on Mars, as reported by Space.com.
Not long ago, Perseverance completed its tasks on the plains of Jezero Crater and began the challenging ascent along its western edge. It was during this journey that the rover stopped to admire the stunning view and send back captivating images to Earth.
The mission team "stitched" together 44 photographs taken by the rover, creating a magnificent Martian landscape.
"If you look at the right side of the mosaic we've assembled, you'll understand what we're dealing with right now. Mars didn't want anyone to reach the top of this ridge without difficulty," said Rick Welch, deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The images were captured when the rover was halfway to the western edge of the crater. Perseverance is expected to reach the summit only by early December, having started its climb in mid-August.
NASA officials note that the ridge Perseverance is currently climbing has an incline of about 20 degrees.
"Rovers have traversed steeper terrain and more slippery surfaces before, but this is the first time we're dealing with both at the same time," said Camden Miller, the "driver" of the Perseverance mission.
"For every two steps forward Perseverance takes, it has to take at least one step back. That's why our team has come up with several options," NASA representatives remarked.
Among the possible strategies were moving the Perseverance rover in reverse, navigating sharp turns "across the slope," and staying closer to the northern edges of the slope, where larger rocks on the surface enhance traction.
All three strategies proved useful, but the method involving the northern edge seems to have performed better than the others.
As a reminder, the Perseverance rover has encountered a slippery path. The NASA craft has found itself on one of the most challenging segments of its journey across the Red Planet.