The image was taken by one of called the (MAHLI). The picture is particularly murky because the MAHLI's removable dust cover is coated with a layer of Martian dust that was thrown on to the camera during the .

MAHLI is a two-megapixel color camera that sits on the end of the rover's robotic arm. The camera was mainly designed to do macro work for the microscopic inspection of Martian rocks and soil.

, taken by Curiosity's Hazard-Avoidance cameras, was among the first photos taken by the rover to confirm its safe landing on Mars.