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Scientists are overjoyed after seeing the Curiosity rover's first initial images showing a wheel resting on the Martian soil.

August 05, 2012

Scientists are overjoyed after seeing the Curiosity rover’s first initial images showing a wheel resting on the Martian soil.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam to take an image of this mountain, nicknamed “Rafael Navarro Mountain” after the astrobiologist Rafael Navarro-González, who worked on the mission until...
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Rafael Navarro Mountain on Mars
‘Rafael Navarro Mountain'
This image is the first high-resolution color mosaic from NASA's Curiosity rover, showing the geological environment around the rover's landing site in Gale Crater on Mars.
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This image is the first high-resolution color mosaic from NASA's Curiosity rover, showing the geological environment around the rover's landing site in Gale Crater on Mars.
First High-Resolution Color Mosaic of Curiosity's Mastcam Images
A NASA Dryden Flight Research Center F/A-18 852 aircraft performs a roll during a dive toward Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during June 2011 flight tests of a Mars landing radar.
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A NASA Dryden Flight Research Center F/A-18 852 aircraft performs a roll during a dive toward Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during June 2011 flight tests of a Mars landing radar.
Flight Testing the Landing Radar for Mars Science Laboratory
NASA's Curiosity has determined the age of a Martian rock and provided first readings of radiation on the surface of Mars.
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Dating Younger Rocks
Dating Younger Rocks
This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows the parachute and back shell that helped guide NASA's Curiosity to the surface of Mars.
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This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows the parachute and back shell that helped guide NASA's Curiosity to the surface of Mars.
Parachute and Back Shell in 3D
This image from July 2008 shows the aeroshell for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory while it was being worked on by spacecraft technicians at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company near Denver.
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This image from July 2008 shows the aeroshell for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory while it was being worked on by spacecraft technicians at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company near Denver.
Aeroshell for Mars Science Laboratory
The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover monitors the natural radiation environment at the surface of Mars.
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The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover monitors the natural radiation environment at the surface of Mars.
Radiation Measurements on Mars
The main map here shows the assortment of landforms near the location of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the rover's second anniversary of landing on Mars nears.
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The main map here shows the assortment of landforms near the location of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the rover's second anniversary of landing on Mars nears.
Sandy Martian Valleys in Curiosity's Near Future
Wispy clouds float across the Martian sky in this accelerated sequence of early-morning images taken on July 17, 2017, by the Navcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
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Wispy clouds float across the Martian sky in this accelerated sequence of early-morning images taken on July 17, 2017, by the Navcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
Clouds Sailing Overhead on Mars, Unenhanced
This cut-out from a color panorama image taken by NASA's Curiosity rover shows the effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground.
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A Set of Blast Marks in Color, Left Side
A Set of Blast Marks in Color, Left Side
This graphic from NASA's Curiosity mission shows an analysis of the composition of two rocks called "Crest" and "Rapitan" in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars.
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This graphic from NASA's Curiosity mission shows an analysis of the composition of two rocks called "Crest" and "Rapitan" in the "Yellowknife Bay" area of Mars.
Signs of Hydrated Calcium Sulfates in Martian Rocks
This graphic shows the ongoing contributions of NASA’s rovers and orbiters during a Martian dust storm that began on May 30, 2018.
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This graphic shows the ongoing contributions of NASA’s rovers and orbiters during a Martian dust storm that began on May 30, 2018.
Mars Storm Watch Observations
This scene was captured by Curiosity on Sept. 9, 2015, when NASA’s Mars rover was many miles from its current location.
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This scene of "Paraitepuy Pass" was captured by Curiosity on Sept. 9, 2015, when NASA’s Mars rover was many miles from its current location.
'Paraitepuy Pass' From a Distance
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life, is in development for a launch opportunity in 2009.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life, is in development for a launch opportunity in 2009.
Mars Science Laboratory with Arm Extended, Artist's Concept
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
On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the 197-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket arrives on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41, situated near the Atlantic Ocean.
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On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the 197-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket arrives on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41, situated near the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlas V Stands Tall
NASA's NEOWISE mission detected comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring on July 28, 2014, less than three months before this comet's close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19. This merging of multiple images presents t...
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NASA's NEOWISE mission detected comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring on July 28, 2014, less than three months before this comet's close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19. This merging of multiple images presents the comet in four different positions relative to the background stars.
NEOWISE Spies Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring a Second Time
Since landing on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring 3-mile-high Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater.
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Curiosity poster illustration containing its accomplishments.
Curiosity: 10 Years of Martian Mountain Climbing
A group of engineers and technicians prepare to mate the rover (tucked inside its backshell and turned upside-down on the left) to its protective heatshield, the black disk on the right.
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This image shows engineers standing near the rover talking.
Assembly and Testing
This cropped image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows one set of marks on the surface of Mars where blasts from the descent-stage rocket engines blew away some of the surface material.
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This cropped image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows one set of marks on the surface of Mars where blasts from the descent-stage rocket engines blew away some of the surface material.
Goulburn Scour Mark
This animation depicts NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drilling a hole to collect a rock-powder sample at a target site called "John Klein." (No audio)
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Simulation of Martian Bedrock Drilling
Simulation of Martian Bedrock Drilling
The 16 frames in this time-lapse movie show how repeated laser shots from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity cause a pit to form at the target point in Mar...
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The 16 frames in this time-lapse movie show how repeated laser shots from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity cause a pit to form at the target point in Martian soil.
Pitting in Martian Soil During Repeated Laser Shots From Mars Rover
This is a map of lower Mount Sharp on Mars, showing the major geologic units identified from orbit.
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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
Miyamoto Crater
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Miyamoto Crater
Miyamoto Crater
This graphic shows tenfold spiking in the abundance of methane in the Martian atmosphere surrounding NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, as detected by a series of measurements made with the Tunable Laser...
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This graphic shows tenfold spiking in the abundance of methane in the Martian atmosphere surrounding NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, as detected by a series of measurements made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer instrument in the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars laboratory suite.
Methane Measurements by NASA's Curiosity in Mars' Gale Crater

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