Curiosity sends back flood of new views from Mars

Pasadena: NASA has received a flood of new black and white images from the Curiosity rover on Mars that it will stitch together to make a panorama.

The photos began pouring in on Wednesday morning after the nuclear powered rover raised its camera equipped mast. The raw images reveal the rover's shadow on the ground and the Martian horizon.

Curiosity has beamed home a steady stream of images since touching down on Sunday, including the first colour view from the landing site.

Better views are expected over the next several days, including a colour panorama.

Curiosity is on a two year mission to examine whether the ancient Martian environment ever had conditions favourable for microbial life.