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This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover along with an illustrated astronaut bird.

September 28, 2011

This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover along with an illustrated astronaut bird.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Curiosity's Rear View, Annotated
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Curiosity's Rear View, Annotated
Curiosity's Rear View, Annotated
This image shows preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.
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This image shows preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.
Bright Days Ahead for Curiosity Mars Rover
A wheel track left by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover exposes underlying material in a shallow sand sheet in this Dec. 2, 2015, view from Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam). The site is close to a large...
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NASA's Mars Curiosity rover looks down on its wheel track, revealing sand grains beneath the surface of a shallow, rippled sand dune.
Rover Track in Sand Sheet Near Martian Sand Dune
A test of a new percussive drilling technique at NASA's JPL. Later this week, NASA's Curiosity rover will test percussive drilling on Mars for the first time since December 2016.
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A test of a new percussive drilling technique at NASA's JPL. Later this week, NASA's Curiosity rover will test percussive drilling on Mars for the first time since December 2016.
Percussive Drill Test at JPL
This image shows inclined beds characteristic of delta deposits where a stream entered a lake, but at a higher elevation and farther south than other delta deposits north of Mount Sharp. This sugge...
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This image shows inclined beds characteristic of delta deposits where a stream entered a lake, but at a higher elevation and farther south than other delta deposits north of Mount Sharp. This suggests multiple episodes of delta growth building southward. It is from Curiosity's Mastcam.
Multiple Episodes of Delta Growth in Gale Crater
This image is from a test series used to characterize the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012, and looks south-southwest from the rover's landing site.
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This image is from a test series used to characterize the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012, and looks south-southwest from the rover's landing site.
Focusing the 100-millimeter Mastcam
This early-morning view from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on March 16, 2016, covers a portion of the inner wall of Gale Crater. At right, the image fades into glare of the rising sun....
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This early-morning view from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on March 16, 2016, covers a portion of the inner wall of Gale Crater. At right, the image fades into glare of the rising sun. Details such as gullies and debris fans help geologists understand processes that shaped the crater.
Northern Portion of Gale Crater Rim Viewed from 'Naukluft Plateau'
On this image of the rock target "Knorr," color coding maps the amount of mineral hydration indicated by a ratio of near-infrared reflectance intensities measured by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NA...
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On this image of the rock target "Knorr," color coding maps the amount of mineral hydration indicated by a ratio of near-infrared reflectance intensities measured by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.
Hydration Map, Based on Mastcam Spectra, for 'Knorr' Rock Target
The payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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The payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Arriving at Launch Pad
The 70m antenna at Goldstone, California against the background of the Mojave desert.
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The 70m antenna at Goldstone, California against the background of the Mojave desert.
Goldstone Antenna
This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012.
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This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012.
Panoramic View From 'Rocknest' Position of Curiosity Mars Rover (Raw-Color)
The shape of the tip of the bit in the drill of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is apparent in this view recorded by the remote micro-imager in the rover's Chemistry and Camera instrument during the 17...
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The shape of the tip of the bit in the drill of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is apparent in this view recorded by the remote micro-imager in the rover's Chemistry and Camera instrument during the 172nd Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Jan. 29, 2012).
Drill Bit Tip on Mars Rover Curiosity, Side View
This mosaic of images shows a boulder-sized rock called "Strathdon," which is made up of many complex layers. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took these images using its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on Jul...
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This mosaic of images shows a boulder-sized rock called "Strathdon," which is made up of many complex layers. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took these images using its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on July 9, 2019, the 2,461st Martian sol, or day, of the mission.
Mastcam Views "Strathdon"
This image shows the first holes into rock drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole and later discarde...
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This image shows the first holes into rock drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole and later discarded after other portions of the sample had been delivered to analytical instruments inside the rover.
Dust from Mars Drilling: Tailings and Discard Piles (Raw Colors - Unannotated)
Adam Steltzner of JPL holds up a model of a Mars entry capsule.
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Adam Steltzner of JPL holds up a model of a Mars entry capsule.
Adam Steltzner, a JPL engineer
This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called "Rocknest."
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This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called "Rocknest."
Bright Particle in Hole Dug by Scooping of Martian Soil
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....
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Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its laser to examine side-by-side points in a target patch of soil, leaving the marks apparent in this before-and-a...
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The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its laser to examine side-by-side points in a target patch of soil, leaving the marks apparent in this before-and-after comparison.
Marks of Laser Exam on Martian Soil
A June 2012 revision of the landing target area for Curiosity, the big rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, reduces the area's size.
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A June 2012 revision of the landing target area for Curiosity, the big rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, reduces the area's size.
Altered Landing Target in Gale Crater, Mars
Goal 4: Prepare for human exploration
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This image shows a backward-looking view of an astronaut in a white spacesuit hiking over reddish sand and rocks on Mars. A gray plume of smoke rises from a fumarole behind the astronaut.
Goal 4: Prepare for human exploration
Mars Parachute Testing in World's Largest Wind Tunnel
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Mars Parachute Testing in World's Largest Wind Tunnel
Mars Parachute Testing in World's Largest Wind Tunnel
Out of more than 30 sites considered as possible landing targets for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, by November 2008 four of the most intriguing places on Mars rose to the final round of t...
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Map showing 4 possible landing sites for MSL
Four Finalist Landing Site Candidates for Mars Science Laboratory
The Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its telephoto lens to capture Mount Sharp in the morning illumination on Oct. 13, 2019, the 2,555th Martian day, or sol, of the miss...
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A dramatic view of Mars' Mount Sharp
A Dramatic View of Mars' Mount Sharp
NASA and Microsoft have teamed up to create "Destination: Mars," a guided tour of Mars using the same Hololens technology that helps scientists plan the Curiosity rover's activities.
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Mixed-Reality Tech Brings Mars to Earth
Mixed-Reality Tech Brings Mars to Earth
Half of the Atlas V payload fairing for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, encased in plastic, is lifted from its transportation pallet in the airlock of the Payload Hazardous Servicing ...
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Half of the Atlas V payload fairing for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, encased in plastic, is lifted from its transportation pallet in the airlock of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Getting Payload Fairing Ready

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