NASA has released a new "postcard" image of a sand ridge on Mars, captured by the Curiosity rover while it was stationed near a feature informally called "Chocolatal." The image was created by combining two photos taken on Mars time—9:56 a.m. on August 29 and 5:39 p.m. on September 2. These images were sent back to Earth and merged to create a single, larger view showing both morning and evening on the Red Planet. Color has been added to the final image for visual clarity, with blue on the right representing morning light and yellow on the left showing the colors of a sunset. Curiosity is currently exploring the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a three-mile-high mountain located inside Gale Crater, a 96-mile-wide basin on Mars. The crater's rim is just barely visible in the distance in the image, which was taken from the crater's floor. The first photo was taken on the rover's 5000th Martian day, or "sol," which is about 39 minutes longer than an Earth day. This milestone highlights the longevity of the mission, which has been ongoing since 2012. Earlier this month, NASA shared a panorama of 323 individual images taken by Curiosity’s mast camera over two days in August, covering a valley named "Valle Grande." As with the new image, the colors in this panorama were adjusted to reflect how the scene would appear to the human eye on Earth. The image shows the rover’s tracks disappearing into the distance, illustrating the path Curiosity has taken through the valley. Curiosity, roughly the size of a car, was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is operated from Pasadena, California. Since landing on Mars in 2012, the rover has been searching for signs of past microbial life. Recently, it reached a significant milestone by climbing 1 kilometer in elevation as it ascends Mount Sharp. Additionally, the rover has collected 42 powdered rock samples by drilling into the Martian surface, providing scientists with valuable data about the planet’s geological and chemical history.