Of all the images to come out of the landing of Curiosity on Mars, nothing compares to this.
NASA spent months figuring out calculations to get the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into perfect position and orientation at the right time to capture this image of Curiosity in its final descent stage to Mars.
A slight clarification–the landing data from Curiosity was relayed by Odyssey, but the photo was taken by a different probe orbiting Mars: the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. There’s a nice writeup about it on the MRO HiRISE page.
Love your Curiosity coverage!
Thanks so much, Matt! I appreciate the information and website link. It’s been so fascinating to watch the coverage of this event.