Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Aerogel Samples

Scientists tested these samples of aerogel to see how they could be used as building materials on Mars.

July 15, 2019

Scientists tested these samples of aerogel to see how they could be used as building materials on Mars. In an experimented, both the crushed and solid samples of aerogel were able to raise temperatures to melt water ice - ideal for a Martian greenhouse in which crops could grow.

Credits

Robin Wordsworth/Harvard

ENLARGE

Related

NASA’s InSight lander used a scoop on its robotic arm to begin trickling soil over the cable connecting its seismometer to the spacecraft on March 14, 2021, the 816th Martian day, or sol of the mis...
More
InSight lander used a scoop on its robotic arm to begin trickling soil over the cable connecting its seismometer to the spacecraft
InSight Starts Burying Seismometer's Cable
Advanced spacesuit designer Amy Ross of NASA's Johnson Space Center stands with the Z-2, a prototype spacesuit.
More
Spacesuit designer Amy Ross stands with a prototype spacesuit
Spacesuit Designer Amy Ross
Anniversary artwork of NASA's Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters and landers. Includes Mars Rover Curiosity and Mars 2020 rover. Infographic text: Viking 40th Anniversary. Past, Present, Future. 1976, ...
More
Anniversary artwork of NASA's Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters and landers. Includes Mars Rover Curiosity and Mars 2020 rover. Infographic text: Viking 40th Anniversary. Past, Present, Future. 1976, 2016, 2020. #viking40
Viking 40 Year Anniversary Artwork: Mars Past, Present, Future
In this August 5, 2019 image, the bit carousel - the heart of sampling and caching subsystem of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission -  is attached to the front end of the rover.
More
In this August 5, 2019 image, the bit carousel - the heart of sampling and caching subsystem of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission - is attached to the front end of the rover.
Cache and Carry
(Left) Apollo 12 astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. stands beside NASA's Surveyor 3 spacecraft; the lunar module Intrepid can be seen in the distance. (Right) Mars 2020 rover, seen here in an arti...
More
(Left) Apollo 12 astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. stands beside NASA's Surveyor 3 spacecraft. (Right) Mars 2020 rover, seen here in an artist's concept, will make history's most accurate landing on a planetary body when it lands at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
Twelve and Twenty
Since landing on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring 3-mile-high Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater.
More
Curiosity poster illustration containing its accomplishments.
Curiosity: 10 Years of Martian Mountain Climbing
This infographic shows the various sources of carbon dioxide on Mars and their estimated contribution to Martian atmospheric pressure.
More
This infographic shows the various sources of carbon dioxide on Mars and their estimated contribution to Martian atmospheric pressure.
Terraforming the Martian Atmosphere
Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has...
More
Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has kept pace with milestones in her life.
Driven to Mars
Download a PDF of the Mars Sample Return sticker.
More
Download a PDF of the Mars Sample Return sticker.
Mars Sample Return Sticker
The HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to capture this image of the descent stage that helped fly NASA’s Perseverance rover down to the surface of Mars. Color and data...
More
descent stage of Perseverance
PIA24335 Close-Up of Perseverance Descent Stage on the Martian Surface
We need many things for our Journey To Mars, but one key piece is YOU!
More
We Need You Poster
We Need You!
JPL mechanical technician Eddie Castro uses a paint meter to measure the paint thickness on the Mars 2020 rover chassis.
More
JPL mechanical technician Eddie Castro uses a paint meter to measure the paint thickness on the Mars 2020 rover chassis.
Measuring Up
MAVEN selfie composite, unannotated
More
This is an unannotated selfie of the MAVEN spacecraft.
MAVEN Selfie Composite, Unannotated
Graphic illustrating the MAVEN spacecraft encountering plasma layers at Mars.
More
Graphic illustrating the MAVEN spacecraft encountering plasma layers at Mars.
Artist's Concept of MAVEN Encountering Plasma Layers at Mars
Download a coloring sheet of NASA MAVEN orbiter and Curiosity rover working together at Mars.
More
Download a coloring sheet of NASA MAVEN orbiter and Curiosity rover working together at Mars.
MAVEN and Curiosity Rover, Coloring Sheet
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this stereo view of the rover's surroundings on the 958th sol, or Martian day, of its surface m...
More
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this stereo view of the rover's surroundings on the 958th sol of its surface mission
Opportunity's View, Sol 958 (Stereo)
This annotated composite image shows the path NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took through a dense section of boulders. It was acquired on June 29, 2023, the 838th day, or sol, of the mission, by on...
More
This annotated composite image shows the path NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took through a dense section of boulders.
Perseverance's AutoNav Leads the Way
Members of NASA’s Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film enclosure to the fuselage of the flight model (the actual vehicle going to the Red Planet). 
More
Members of NASA’s Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film enclosure to the fuselage of the flight model.
Composing Mars Helicopter
This image, acquired on January 2, 2014, by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows dune fields located among canyon wall slopes.
More
This image, acquired on January 2, 2014, by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows dune fields located among canyon wall slopes.
Hanging Sand Dunes within Coprates Chasma
Meet the 20th Martian sample collected by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover – "Otis Peak," the first rock core sample taken from a conglomerate rock, which consists of pebbles cemented together.
More
Meet the 20th Martian sample collected by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover – "Otis Peak," the first rock core sample taken from a conglomerate rock, which consists of pebbles cemented together.
Meet the Mars Samples: Otis Peak (Sample 20)
Space missions often defy the odds, overcoming all obstacles. The people who work on these missions also face challenges to get where they are today. Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, the testbed lead fo...
More
Space missions often defy the odds, overcoming all obstacles. The people who work on these missions also face challenges to get where they are today. Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, the testbed lead for InSight, personifies this tenacious spirit.
True Grit on the Road to Mars
Peer over the shoulders of our engineers as they build hardware for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. 
More
Engineering for Mars: The 2020 Mission
Engineering for Mars: The 2020 Mission
Mars' north polar deposits comprise a thick stack of icy layers. Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate those laye...
More
Mars' north polar deposits comprise a thick stack of icy layers. Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate those layers.
Lingering Frost
Anniversary artwork showing NASA Viking 1 or Viking 2 Lander on the surface of Mars. Infographic caption: I can dig it!  First soil sample on another planet. #viking40
More
Anniversary artwork showing NASA Viking 1 or Viking 2 Lander on the surface of Mars. Infographic caption: I can dig it! First soil sample on another planet. #viking40
Viking 40 Year Anniversary Artwork: First Soil Sample on Another Planet
Seasons change even on Mars and NASA's fleet of explorers are helping scientists learn more about the effects on the Red Planet.
More
Seasons change even on Mars and NASA's fleet of explorers are helping scientists learn more about the effects on the Red Planet.
Mars Report: How's the Weather on Mars?

You Might Also Like

The agency is asking the NASA community to work together to develop a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology.
More
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.
More
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
The agency established the board in May 2023 to evaluate the technical, cost, and schedule plans prior to confirmation of the mission’s design.
More
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
A pair of quakes in 2021 sent seismic waves deep into the Red Planet’s core, giving scientists the best data yet on its size and composition.
More
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
Ten sample tubes, capturing an amazing variety of Martian geology, have been deposited on Mars’ surface so they could be studied on Earth in the future.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
Filled with rock, the sample tube will be one of 10 forming a depot of tubes that could be considered for a journey to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface