The descent of Mars Science Laboratory (i.e., the Curiosity Rover) was caught by the HiRISE camera, which has also imaged Spirit, Opportunity, the Phoenix lander, and many other human-created probes.

Twelve years ago, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched. With its HiRISE camera on board, it’s covered the world many times over, catching the descent and landing of the Curiosity rover. It helped show that Phobos (above) and Deimos (below) resulted from impacts, not asteroid capture. It even caught a faraway glimpse of our home. With over 50,000 images, HiRISE’s catalogue is free to view anytime.