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MSL Still from Overview video with laser

This artists concept of MSL is a still from the MSL Mission Overview video demonstrating the ChemCam instrument.

March 20, 2009

This artists concept of MSL is a still from the MSL Mission Overview video demonstrating the ChemCam instrument.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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A shiny-looking Martian rock is visible in this image taken by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 173rd Martian day, or sol (Jan. 30, 2013).
Shiny-Looking Martian Rock
This illustration depicts a concept for the possible extent of an ancient lake inside Gale Crater.
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This illustration depicts a concept for the possible extent of an ancient lake inside Gale Crater.
Possible Extent of Ancient Lake in Gale Crater, Mars
This image, taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, shows the transition between the "Murray Formation," in which layers are poorly expressed and difficult to tra...
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This color image shows the transition between the "Murray Formation," and the hematite ridge, which is made up of continuous layers that can be traced laterally for hundreds of meters. Between both areas is a dark band of material, which are the dunes that divide Murray Ridge and Hematite Ridge.
Geological Transition
Images of locations in Gale Crater taken from orbit around Mars reveal evidence of erosion in recent geological times and development of small scarps, or vertical surfaces.
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Images of locations in Gale Crater taken from orbit around Mars reveal evidence of erosion in recent geological times and development of small scarps, or vertical surfaces.
Erosion Patterns May Guide Mars Rover to Rocks Recently Exposed
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity heads on the long journey to the mission's main destination, Mount Sharp.
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Trek to Mount Sharp Begins
Trek to Mount Sharp Begins
The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) is a powerful set of three instruments onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover that work together to investigate the chemistry of the Martian sur...
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The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) is a powerful set of three instruments onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover that work together to investigate the chemistry of the Martian surface and atmosphere within Gale Crater.
SAM Instrument Suite, at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
This is a still from an interactive web feature that guides you through the entry, descent and landing of NASA's Curiosity rover.
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Guided Tour of Curiosity's Martian Landing
Guided Tour of Curiosity's Martian Landing
A blink pair of images taken before and after Curiosity performed a "mini drill" test on a Martian rock shows changes resulting from that activity.
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A blink pair of images taken before and after Curiosity performed a "mini drill" test on a Martian rock shows changes resulting from that activity.
Before-and-After Blink of Curiosity 'Mini Drill' into Mars Rock
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these "sun rays" shining through clouds at sunset on Feb. 2, 2023, the 3,730th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. It was the first time that sun rays, also kn...
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these “sun rays” shining through clouds at sunset on Feb. 2, 2023, the 3,730th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Curiosity Views First Martian 'Sun Rays'
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover took this 360-degree panorama while atop “Mont Mercou,” a rock formation that offered a view into Gale Crater below. 
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this 360-degree panorama while atop "Mont Mercou," a rock formation that offered a view into Gale Crater below.
Curiosity's 360-degree View Atop 'Mont Mercou'
This chart illustrates how NASA's Curiosity rover talks to Earth. While the rover can send direct messages, it communicates more efficiently with the help of spacecraft in orbit, including NASA's O...
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This chart illustrates how NASA's Curiosity rover talks to Earth. While the rover can send direct messages, it communicates more efficiently with the help of spacecraft in orbit, including NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express. NASA's Deep Space Network of antennae across the globe receive the transmissions, and send them to the Mars Science Laboratory mission operations center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Curiosity Speaks and Orbiters Listen
During final stacking of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, the heat shield is positioned for integration with the rest of the spacecraft in this photograph from inside the Payload Hazardou...
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During final stacking of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, the heat shield is positioned for integration with the rest of the spacecraft in this photograph from inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Mars Science Laboratory Heat Shield Integration for Flight
A test operator in clean-room garb observes rolling of the wheels during the first drive test of NASA's Curiosity rover, on July 23, 2010.
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A test operator in clean-room garb observes rolling of the wheels during the first drive test of NASA's Curiosity rover, on July 23, 2010.
Close Look at Curiosity's First Drive
The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took this image of a rock called "Et-Then" during the mission's 82nd sol, or Martian day (Oct. 29, 2012.)
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The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took this image of a rock called "Et-Then" during the mission's 82nd sol, or Martian day (Oct. 29, 2012.)
Rock 'Et-Then' Near Curiosity, Sol 82
The Curiosity rover’s Entry, Descent and Landing team (EDL) arrives at the post-landing press conference to cheers and celebration.
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The Curiosity rover's Entry, Descent and Landing team (EDL) arrives at the post-landing press conference to cheers and celebration.
Hi-Five!
This pit crater was created by an empty lava tube in Mars’ Arsia Mons region. The image was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Aug. 16, 2020.
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This pit crater was created by an empty lava tube in Mars’ Arsia Mons region. The image was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Aug. 16, 2020.
HiRISE Spots the Mouth of a Martian Lava Tube
Curiosity viewed sloping buttes and layered outcrops as it exited the "Murray Buttes" region on lower Mount Sharp, Sept. 9, 2016.
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Curiosity viewed sloping buttes and layered outcrops as it exited the "Murray Buttes" region on lower Mount Sharp, Sept. 9, 2016.
Farewell to Murray Buttes (Image 2)
From a position in the shallow "Yellowknife Bay" depression, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its right Mast Camera (Mastcam) to take the telephoto images combined into this panorama of geological ...
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From a position in the shallow "Yellowknife Bay" depression, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its right Mast Camera (Mastcam) to take the telephoto images combined into this panorama of geological diversity.
View from Inside 'Yellowknife Bay' (Raw-color)
This close-up view shows the rover Curiosity's parachute and back shell strewn across the surface of Mars.
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Evidence of a Job Well Done
Evidence of a Job Well Done
This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a small bright object on the ground beside the rover at the "Rocknest" site.
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This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a small bright object on the ground beside the rover at the "Rocknest" site.
Small Debris on the Ground Beside Curiosity
Where Curiosity Landed on Mars
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Where Curiosity Landed on Mars
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This figure shows images acquired through each of the eight filters in the filter wheel of the 34-millimeter-focal-length Mast Camera (MastCam-34) on the Mars rover Curiosity.
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This figure shows images acquired through each of the eight filters in the filter wheel of the 34-millimeter-focal-length Mast Camera (MastCam-34) on the Mars rover Curiosity.
Illustrating MastCam Capabilities with a Terrestrial Scene
This image from Curiosity's Mast Camera shows NASA's Curiosity rover just after discarding a soil sample as part of its first "decontamination" exercise.
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This image from Curiosity's Mast Camera shows NASA's Curiosity rover just after discarding a soil sample as part of its first "decontamination" exercise.
Thanks for the Scrub
This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project.
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This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project.
Revised Landing Target for Mars Rover Curiosity
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in July 2017 (Sol 1750), and its planned path to additional geologic...
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in July 2017 (Sol 1750), and its planned path to additional geological layers of lower Mount Sharp.
Mid-2017 Map of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Mission

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