Curiosity Lays Its First Tracks on Mars [PICS]

After three weeks of preparations, the car-sized Mars Curiosity rover started making tracks on the Red Planet on Wednesday. In a press conference, NASA revealed a 360 panorama taken by the roving craft, which moved about 15 feet in its first foray on the planet's surface, then rotated 120 and moved backward approximately 8 feet.

The spacecraft is now about 20 feet away from its landing site.

Take a look at the gallery below for selected crops of the 360 photo, or click here to see the entire panorama, which is composed of 23 frames arranged in a cylindrical projection.

[via NASA]

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