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CURIOSITY VIDEOS

Great Convergence of Spacecraft around Mars

August 04, 2012

This artist's animation shows how orbiters over Mars will monitor the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover.

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The Curiosity engineering team created this view from images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover rear hazard avoidance cameras underneath the rover deck on Sol 0.
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The Curiosity engineering team created this view from images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover rear hazard avoidance cameras underneath the rover deck on Sol 0.
A View From Below the Rover Deck
This map shows in red the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the "Bradbury Landing" location where it landed in August 2012 to nearly the completion of its first Martian year. The whi...
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This map shows in red the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the "Bradbury Landing" location where it landed in August 2012 to nearly the completion of its first Martian year. The white line shows the planned route ahead. The rover's June 18, 2014, location is marked as 663.
Curiosity's Progress on Route to Mount Sharp
Nili Fossae was once considered a potential landing spot for the Mars Science Laboratory, and has one of the largest, most diverse exposures of clay minerals.
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A color image of Nili Fossae with large light and dark-toned bands of minerals.
A Large, Banded Angular Fragment in Nili Fossae
The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission's rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.
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The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission's rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.
SAM Instrument at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
This stereoscopic anaglyph image was created from a left and right stereo pair of images of the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, Curiosity. The image was taken May 26, 2011, in Spacecraf...
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This stereoscopic anaglyph image was created from a left and right stereo pair of images of the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, Curiosity
Mars Science Laboratory Mission's Curiosity Rover (Stereo)
Snow falls and ice and frost form on Mars, too. NASA's spacecraft on and orbiting the Red Planet reveal the similarities to and differences from how we experience winter on Earth.  
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Snow falls and ice and frost form on Mars, too. NASA's spacecraft on and orbiting the Red Planet reveal the similarities to and differences from how we experience winter on Earth.
Mars Report: Winter Wonderland on Mars
A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds the northern polar cap covering an area as big as Texas.
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A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds the northern polar cap covering an area as big as Texas.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Polar Dunes
This HiRISE image covers the southwest portion of the terraces and floor of Holden Crater situated in southwest Margaritifer Terra.
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This HiRISE image covers the southwest portion of the terraces and floor of Holden Crater situated in southwest Margaritifer Terra. The HiRISE sub-frame shows the most clearly-evident image of a megabreccia on Mars. Breccia is a rock typically consisting of rock fragments of various sizes and shapes that have been broken, tumbled and cemented together in sudden geologic event (e.g., a landslide, a flashflood or even an impact-cratering event). If it were not for the dark sandy dunes dispersed through out the sub-image, this image could easily fool an expert into thinking that this image is actually a photograph of a hand sample of an impact breccia. The prefix "mega" implies that the breccia in the sub-image consists of clasts, or rock fragments, that are typically larger than a large house or a building. The rectangular megaclast near the center of the image is a colossal 50 x 25 meters (~150 X 75 feet). As mentioned in the transition image caption for Holden crater (TRA_000861_1530), the crater likely experienced extensive modification by running water, which is supported by observations of drainage and deposition into the crater from a large channel (Uzboi Valles) breaching Holden's southwest rim. While it is possible that the megabreccia formed from a catastrophic release of water into the crater, a more likely possibility is that it formed from the impact that created the approx. 150 km-in-diameter Holden crater. Popigai Crater, a terrestrial crater of half the size of Holden, possesses a similar occurrence of megabreccia with a similar range in megaclast size to the Holden crater example. An impact-generated megabreccia deposit, as observed in terrestrial craters, typically lies beneath the crater floor, so the exhumation of the megabreccia may be the result of down-cutting and erosion of water that once flowed through Uzboi Valles.
Holden Crater Megabreccia: A Telltale Sign of a Sudden and Violent Event
Employees gathered one level above monitor the progress of the protective mesh container known as the "gorilla cage," holding the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NAS...
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Employees gathered one level above monitor the progress of the protective mesh container known as the "gorilla cage," holding the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, as it is lifted near the top of the Atlas V rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41.
Installing the MMRTG Power Source
Measurements with the MSL Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover during the flight to Mars and now on the surface of Mars enable an estimate of the radiation astronauts ...
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Measurements with the MSL Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover during the flight to Mars and now on the surface of Mars enable an estimate of the radiation astronauts would be exposed to on an expedition to Mars.
Radiation Exposure Comparisons with Mars Trip Calculation
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used a new technique, with added autonomy for the rover, in placement of the tool-bearing turret on its robotic arm during the 399th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used a new technique, with added autonomy for the rover, in placement of the tool-bearing turret on its robotic arm during the 399th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Curiosity Uses X-ray Instrument's Data for Proximity Placement
The "keys" to NASA's Mars rovers are in the capable hands of the official rover drivers. Learn how they operate the vehicles from millions of miles away in this 60-second video from NASA's Jet Prop...
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Mars in a Minute: How Do Rovers Drive on Mars?
Mars in a Minute: How Do Rovers Drive on Mars?
NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter captured the first-ever views of Mars that showcase the curving horizon and layers of atmosphere, similar to what an astronaut sees of Earth from the International Space...
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NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter captured the first-ever views of Mars that showcase the curving horizon and layers of atmosphere, similar to what an astronaut sees of Earth from the International Space Station.
Mars Report: What Would Mars Look Like if an Astronaut Could Orbit the Planet
The mesa in the center of this scene from the "Murray Buttes" area on Mars is longer than a football field. The panorama combines images taken by the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Aug. ...
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Cluster of Martian Mesas on Lower Mount Sharp, Sols 1438 and 1439
Cluster of Martian Mesas on Lower Mount Sharp, Sols 1438 and 1439
This stereo scene looking back at where Curiosity crossed a dune at "Dingo Gap" combines several exposures taken by the Navigation Camera (Navcam) high on the rover's mast. It appears three dimensi...
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This stereo scene looking back at where Curiosity crossed a dune at "Dingo Gap" combines several exposures taken by the Navigation Camera (Navcam) high on the rover's mast.
Panoramic View From West of 'Dingo Gap' (Stereo)
This graphic shows the geologic cross-section through lower Mount Sharp on Mars.
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This graphic shows the geologic cross-section through lower Mount Sharp on Mars. The crater floor is in gray. The Murray Formation in green and the Hematite Ridge is in orange.
Geologic Cross-Section
Curiosity's Rear View, Linearized
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Curiosity's Rear View, Linearized
Curiosity's Rear View, Linearized
Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida put NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, through a series of rotation te...
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Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida put NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, through a series of rotation tests.
Curiosity's Rotation Tests
'Marsshine' on Shadowed Part of Phobos
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'Marsshine' on Shadowed Part of Phobos
Phobos from 5,800 Kilometers
Five years of Martian discoveries after seven minutes of terror.
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Curiosity’s First Five Years of Science on Mars
Curiosity's First Five Years of Science on Mars
NASA’s InSight has been busy. After landing on the Red Planet, the mission sent home pictures and sound, then placed its first instrument on the planet's surface. Plus, find out what the Curiosity ...
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NASA’s InSight has been busy. After landing on the Red Planet, the mission sent home pictures and sound, then placed its first instrument on the planet's surface. Plus, find out what the Curiosity rover has been up to.
Mars Report: December 2018
This image shows a closeup view of the two pairs of camera lenses on a shelf. The left-hand pair are larger than the right-hand pair, go to the hazard avoidance camera, and have a larger, fish-eye ...
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This image shows a closeup view of the two pairs of camera lenses on a shelf. The left-hand pair are larger than the right-hand pair, go to the hazard avoidance camera, and have a larger, fish-eye lens field of view for examining the rover's wheels and immediate surroundings. Its lenses are a clear, almost-turquoise blue. The right-hand pair of lenses are smaller and go to the navigation camera, which takes panoramic, far-field images of surrounding terrain.
Martian Eyes Are Watching
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows sand dunes on the slopes of Nectaris Montes within Coprates Chasma.
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This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows sand dunes on the slopes of Nectaris Montes within Coprates Chasma.
Dunes in Nectaris Montes
This map of Mars shows all of the more than 60 landing sites proposed for the Mars Science Laboratory (red dots) and the four final candidate sites (blue dots).
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This map of Mars shows all of the more than 60 landing sites proposed for the Mars Science Laboratory (red dots) and the four final candidate sites (blue dots).
More Than 60 Sites Considered for Next Mars Rover Landing
This image shows the heatshield inside a large 'clean room'
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This image shows the heatshield inside a large 'clean room'
One Hot, Giant "Clamshell"

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