NASA’s Perseverance Rover Watches Earth Vanish Behind Martian Moon

This annotated composite of nine images taken by Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z on July 2, 2026, shows Earth — the small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right — passing behind the Martian moon Phobos. Earth disappears — and then reappears — behind the Martian moon Phobos. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSIEarth and the Martian moon Phobos dance together in a series of images recently acquired by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. This composite of seven images of Earth passing behind the Martian moon Phobos was acquired from data taken on July 2, 2026, 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. These are sometimes described informally as “Martian solar eclipses.”