Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Mars Solar Conjunction

This animation illustrates Mars solar conjunction, a period when Mars is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. During this time, the Sun can interrupt radio transmissions to spacecraft on and around the Red Planet.

August 23, 2019

This animation illustrates Mars solar conjunction, a period when Mars is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. During this time, the Sun can interrupt radio transmissions to spacecraft on and around the Red Planet.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

ENLARGE

Related

JPL engineer Patrick DeGrosse reviews data from a drop test of a full-size lander footpad with a group of fellow engineers.
More
JPL engineer Patrick DeGrosse reviews data from a drop test of a full-size lander footpad with a group of fellow engineers.
Going Over the Footpad Test Data
This image (top) taken by the Shallow Radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals the layers of ice, sand and dust that make up the north polar ice cap on Mars
More
What Lies Below a Martian Ice Cap
What Lies Below a Martian Ice Cap
Three images of the same location taken at different times on Mars show seasonal activity causing sand avalanches and ripple changes on a Martian dune.
More
Three images of the same location taken at different times on Mars show seasonal activity causing sand avalanches and ripple changes on a Martian dune.
Seasonal Changes in Northern Mars Dune Field
The High Bay 1 clean room within the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL is seen in this image taken on Nov. 12, 2019. The Mars 2020 rover is visible just above center. 
More
High Bay 1 clean room within the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL
High Bay 1 in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility
This small ridge, about 3 feet long, appears to resist wind erosion more than the flatter plates around it. Such differences are among the traits NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is examining at selecte...
More
Erosion Resistance at 'Pink Cliffs' at Base of Martian Mount Sharp
Erosion Resistance at 'Pink Cliffs' at Base of Martian Mount Sharp (Labeled)
This is a map of lower Mount Sharp on Mars, showing the major geologic units identified from orbit.
More
This is a map of lower Mount Sharp on Mars, showing the major geologic units identified from orbit. In blue are dunes, crater floor is in gray, Hematite is in orange and the Murray formation is in green.
Map of Lower Mount Sharp
This animation shows how NASA's Curiosity rover communicates with Earth via two of NASA's Mars orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Odyssey, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express....
More
Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on the mission's 21st Martian day, or sol (Aug. 30, 2012) and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into th...
More
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on the mission's 21st Martian day, or sol (Aug. 30, 2012) and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into this scene, which inclues the fresh tracks.
Looking Back at Tracks from Sol 24 Drive
This diagram illustrates Mars' "thermal tides," a weather phenomenon responsible for large, daily variations in pressure at the Martian surface.
More
This diagram illustrates Mars' "thermal tides," a weather phenomenon responsible for large, daily variations in pressure at the Martian surface.
Thermal Tides at Mars
This color thumbnail image was obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover during its descent to the surface of Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT).
More
Curiosity's Heat Shield in View
Curiosity's Heat Shield in View
This image is an artist's concept of the Mars Science Laboratory on the surface of Mars.
More
This image is an artist's concept of the Mars Science Laboratory on the surface of Mars.
A Rough, Tough, Red Planet Rock Hound
An engineer dressed in white cleanroom coveralls (called a "bunny suit") works on the rover upside-down in its "backshell."
More
This image shows an engineer dressed in cleanroom coverall working on the rover which is overhead.
Timeline Pre-Launch Bunny Suit
This topography map shows a portion of the Gale Crater region on Mars, where NASA's Mars Curiosity rover landed on August 6, 2012.
More
This topography map shows a portion of the Gale Crater region on Mars, where NASA's Mars Curiosity rover landed on August 6, 2012.
Slopes of Mount Sharp
Teachers gather at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., for the Curiosity Landing Educator Workshop.
More
Teachers gather at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., for the Curiosity Landing Educator Workshop.
Curiosity Landing Educator Workshop
This test image from an engineering model of NASA’s InSight lander shows part of the lander’s robotic arm and the simulated Martian ground at a testbed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasade...
More
This test image from an engineering model of NASA’s InSight lander shows part of the lander’s robotic arm and the simulated Martian ground at a testbed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Test Raw Image of Robotic Arm in InSight Testbed
Growing up, NASA-JPL engineer Farah Alibay didn't have a role model who was an engineer and a woman of color. Now, she hopes she can play that role for the next generation as Mars Cube One (MarCO) ...
More
Engineer Tests CubeSats for Better Communication at Mars
Meet MarCO: Engineer Tests CubeSats for Better Communication at Mars
In this illustration of a Mars sample return mission concept, a lander carrying a fetch rover touches down on the surface of Mars.
More
In this illustration of a Mars sample return mission concept, a lander carrying a fetch rover touches down on the surface of Mars.
Mars Sample Return Lander Touchdown (Artist's Concept)
This set of images shows "before" and "after" images of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
More
This set of images shows "before" and "after" images of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image from Mars Orbit Indicates Solar Panels on Phoneix Lander may have Collapsed
This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows a sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover's drill from the "Confidence Hills" target.
More
This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows a sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover's drill from the "Confidence Hills" target -- the first rock drilled after Curiosity reached the base of Mount Sharp in September 2014.
'Confidence Hills' Drill Powder in Scoop
Happy birthday song for Curiosity
More
Happy Birthday Curiosity!
Happy Birthday Curiosity!
Data graphed here are examples from the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory's detection of Martian organics in a sample of powder that the drill on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected from a...
More
Data graphed here are examples from the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory's detection of Martian organics in a sample of powder that the drill on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected from a rock target called "Cumberland."
Data from Detection of Organics in a Rock on Mars
Impact Crater in Tempe Terra
More
Impact Crater in Tempe Terra
Impact Crater in Tempe Terra
The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was positioned about 4 inches (10 centimeters) from the surface of the "Point Lake" outcrop when it took this image of a ...
More
The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was positioned about 4 inches (10 centimeters) from the surface of the "Point Lake" outcrop when it took this image of a portion of the outcrop's steep face.
Close-Up Detail in "Point Lake" Outcrop
Technicians in a Lockheed Martin clean room near Denver prepare NASA's InSight Mars lander for propulsion proof and leak testing on Oct. 31, 2014.
More
Technicians in a Lockheed Martin clean room near Denver prepare NASA's InSight Mars lander for propulsion proof and leak testing on Oct. 31, 2014.
Work on NASA's InSight Lander Starts New Phase
An area inside Holden crater was considered as a landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
More
An area inside Holden crater was considered as a landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Holden Crater, a Finalist Not Selected as Landing Site for Curiosity

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