Skip Navigation
menu

Images

A Scale Model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is Loaded

A scale model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is loaded by Wind Tunnel Test Engineer Sam Schmitz into the trisonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for testing.

September 25, 2023

A scale model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is loaded by Wind Tunnel Test Engineer Sam Schmitz into the trisonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for testing. The 14-by-14-inch tunnel has been used to test launch vehicle configurations for Artemis, Redstone, Jupiter-C, Saturn, and more.

Credits

NASA/Jonathan Deal

ENLARGE

Related

This illustration shows a concept for a proposed NASA Sample Retrieval Lander that would carry a small rocket (about 10 feet, or 3 meters, tall) called the Mars Ascent Vehicle to the Martian surfac...
More
This illustration shows a concept for a proposed NASA Sample Retrieval Lander that would carry a small rocket (about 10 feet, or 3 meters, tall) called the Mars Ascent Vehicle to the Martian surface.
Mars Sample Retrieval Lander Concept Illustration
The InSight mission is heading to Mars, but many spacecraft have died trying to get there. The current record for Mars missions is 18 successes, and 25 failures. InSight hopes to improve the odds.
More
The InSight mission is heading to Mars, but many spacecraft have died trying to get there. The current record for Mars missions is 18 successes, and 25 failures. InSight hopes to improve the odds.
Getting to Mars is Hard
This stereo landscape scene from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows rows of rocks in the foreground and Mount Sharp on the horizon. It appears three dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses ...
More
This stereo landscape scene from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows rows of rocks in the foreground and Mount Sharp on the horizon.
Martian Landscape With Rock Rows and Mount Sharp (Stereo)
This image is an edited version of the last 360-degree panorama taken by the Opportunity rover's Pancam from May 13 through June 10, 2018. The version of the scene is presented in approximate true ...
More
This image is an edited version of the last 360-degree panorama taken by the Opportunity rover's Pancam from May 13 through June 10, 2018. The version of the scene is presented in approximate true color.
Opportunity Legacy Pan (True Color)
In this illustration, NASA's Mars 2020 rover uses its drill to core a rock sample on Mars.
More
In this illustration, NASA's Mars 2020 rover uses its drill to core a rock sample on Mars.
Mars 2020 Collecting Sample (Artist's Concept)
Color has been added to highlight minerals in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The green color represents minerals called carbonates, which are es...
More
Color has been added to highlight minerals in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission.
Jezero Crater Minerals
This illustration depicts the exterior of a sample tube being carried aboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.
More
This illustration depicts the exterior of a sample tube being carried aboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.
Anatomy of a Sample Tube
Engineers at JPL install a sensor-filled turret on the end of the rover's seven-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) robotic arm. The image was taken on July 11, 2019.
More
Engineers at JPL install a sensor-filled turret on the end of the rover's seven-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) robotic arm. The image was taken on July 11, 2019.
Attaching Mars 2020's Turret
​ NASA's Curiosity rover used an instrument called SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) to detect seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly...
More
NASA's Curiosity rover used an instrument called SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) to detect seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly three Martian years (nearly six Earth years), peaking each summer.
Mars' Mysterious Methane
This artist's concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays the capture of a collection of Martian samples by a spacecraft orbiting Mars.
More
This artist's concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays the capture of a collection of Martian samples by a spacecraft orbiting Mars.
Rendezvous in Martian Orbit
This mosaic shows a rock called "Bunsen Peak" where NASA's Perseverance Mars rover extracted its 21st rock core and abraded a circular patch to investigate the rock's composition.
More
This mosaic shows a rock called "Bunsen Peak" where NASA's Perseverance Mars rover extracted its 21st rock core and abraded a circular patch to investigate the rock's composition.
Perseverance's View of 'Bunsen Peak'
A model of NASA’s Mars Science Helicopter concept is shown in this photo. 
More
A model of NASA’s Mars Science Helicopter concept is shown in this photo.
Model of Proposed Mars Science Helicopter
NASA and the European Space Agency are now working together to explore options for a pair of missions that could take the next steps to bring samples back from Mars.
More
NASA and the European Space Agency are now working together to explore options for a pair of missions that could take the next steps to bring samples back from Mars.
Bringing Mars Back To Earth
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
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
Scientists and engineers who worked on NASA’s Opportunity rover give mission leadership a round of applause in Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
More
Scientists and engineers who worked on NASA’s Opportunity rover give mission leadership a round of applause in Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
A Round of Applause for Opportunity
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity set a one-day distance record for martian driving on the rover's 383rd martian day, or sol, which began on Feb. 19, 2005. Opportunity rolled 177.5 meters (...
More
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity set a one-day distance record for martian driving on the rover's 383rd martian day, or sol, which began on Feb. 19, 2005
Record Drive Day, Opportunity Sol 383 (3-D)
The HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to capture this image of the final location of the parachute that helped slow down NASA’s Perseverance rover during its landing ...
More
parachute from Mars 2020 landing
Close-Up of Perseverance Parachute on the Martian Surface
This artist's concept is a simulation of what seismic waves from a marsquake might look like as they move through different layers of the Martian interior.
More
This artist's concept is a simulation of what seismic waves from a marsquake might look like as they move through different layers of the Martian interior.
Seismic Waves Inside Mars
After more than a year without the use of the Curiosity Mars rover's drill, engineers have devised a workaround and tested it for the first time on the Red Planet.
More
After more than a year without the use of the Curiosity Mars rover's drill, engineers have devised a workaround and tested it for the first time on the Red Planet.
Curiosity's New Drilling Technique
A dual rotor system for the next generation of Mars helicopters is tested in the 25-Foot Space Simulator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sept.15. Longer and stronger than those used on the I...
More
A dual rotor system for the next generation of Mars helicopters is tested in the 25-Foot Space Simulator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sept.15.
Testing Next-Generation Mars Helicopter Rotors
This stereo view was taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on the rover's 87th martian day, or sol (April 1, 2004), just after Spirit left "Bonneville Crater." It sh...
More
This stereo view was taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on the rover's 87th martian day, or sol
Eyeing the Drive Ahead After 'Bonneville' (3-D)
A team of engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover.
More
A team of engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover.
Mars 2020's Hot Wheels
Steve Squyres, principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission, and Matt Golombek, the mission’s project scientist, discussed the ground-breaking science returned by the mission’s ...
More
Steve Squyres, principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission, and Matt Golombek, the mission’s project scientist, discussed the ground-breaking science returned by the mission’s twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on Feb. 13, 2019.
A Celebration of Science from Spirit and Opportunity
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera (Navcam) to record this stereo scene of a butte called "Mount Remarkable" and surrounding outcrops at a waypoint called "the Kimberley" inside...
More
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera (Navcam) to record this stereo scene of a butte called "Mount Remarkable" and surrounding outcrops at a waypoint called "the Kimberley" inside Gale Crater.
Stereo View of 'Mount Remarkable' and Surrounding Outcrops at Mars Rover's Waypoint

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