Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, on February 2, 2025, Sol 4441 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 08:40:11 UTC.
The camera focus motor count (returned with the image) can be used to calculate the camera standoff distance (camera lens to the target). In this case the standoff was 25 centimeters (~10 inches). This provides an image scale of ~95 micrometers per image pixel, or a scene width of ~15 centimeters (~6 inches)
Most images acquired by MAHLI in daylight use the sun as an illumination source. However, in some cases, MAHLI's two groups of white light LEDs and one group of longwave ultraviolet (UV) LEDs might be used to illuminate targets. When Curiosity acquired this image, the group 1 white light LEDs were off, the group 2 white light LEDs were off, and the ultraviolet (UV) LEDS were off.
Credits NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
Source - https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmgill/54303529791/
