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Mars Science Laboratory

Mars Science Laboratory with Power Source and Extended Arm, Artist's Concept

February 17, 2009

An artist's concept illustrates what the Mars rover Curiosity will look like on Mars.


The Mars Science Laboratory rover is larger and can travel farther than Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in early 2004.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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NASA's Curiosity heads to rock target "Jake," named in honor of Mars Science Laboratory engineer Jacob Matijevic.
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Tribute to Jake
Tribute to Jake
This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (...
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This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Feb. 3, 2013), plus three exposures taken during Sol 270 (May 10, 2013) to update the appearance of part of the ground beside the rover.
Updated Curiosity Self-Portrait at 'John Klein'
This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky
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This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky
Bright 'Evening Star' Seen from Mars is Earth (Annotated)
The team operating NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is developing techniques that the rover might be able to use to resume drilling into rocks on Mars. In this June 2017 photo, JPL robotics engineer Vla...
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Testing New Techniques for Mars Rover Rock-Drilling
Testing New Techniques for Mars Rover Rock-Drilling
This mosaic shows the calibration target for the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover, as seen by the ChemCam's remote micro-imager. The images were taken on Aug. 15,...
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This mosaic shows the calibration target for the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover, as seen by the ChemCam's remote micro-imager. The images were taken on Aug. 15, 2012.
Checking out ChemCam's View
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 is an artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its cruise phase between launch and final approach to Mars.
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This is an artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its cruise phase between launch and final approach to Mars.
Mars Science Laboratory Spacecraft During Cruise, Artist's Concept
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in July 2017 (Sol 1750), and its planned path to additional geologic...
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in July 2017 (Sol 1750), and its planned path to additional geological layers of lower Mount Sharp.
Mid-2017 Map of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Mission
This image shows the location of the 150-micrometer sieve screen on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, a device used to remove larger particles from samples before delivery to science instruments.
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This image shows the location of the 150-micrometer sieve screen on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, a device used to remove larger particles from samples before delivery to science instruments.
Sifting Martian Samples (Raw-colored)
The right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover provided this view of the lower stratigraphy at "Yellowknife Bay" inside Gale Crater on Mars.
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The right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover provided this view of the lower stratigraphy at "Yellowknife Bay" inside Gale Crater on Mars.
'Yellowknife Bay' Veins and Concretions
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover began close-up investigation of a target called "Marimba," on lower Mount Sharp, during the week preceding the fourth anniversary of the mission's Aug. 6, 2016, landing....
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover began close-up investigation of a target called "Marimba," on lower Mount Sharp, during the week preceding the fourth anniversary of the mission's Aug. 6, 2016, landing. Curiosity's Navigation Camera took this shot of the rover's arm over Marimba on Aug. 2, 2016.
Curiosity's Arm Over 'Marimba' Target on Mount Sharp
In the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41, the payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft was attached to its Atlas V rocket on Nov. 3, 2011.
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In the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41, the payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft was attached to its Atlas V rocket on Nov. 3, 2011.
Mars Science Laboratory Atop Its Atlas V
In this image, the scoop on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the larger soil particles that were too big to filter through a sample-processing sieve that is porous only to particles less than 0.006 inc...
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In this image, the scoop on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the larger soil particles that were too big to filter through a sample-processing sieve that is porous only to particles less than 0.006 inches (150 microns) across.
Too Big for the Sieve
Test operators monitor how NASA's Mars rover Curiosity handles driving over a ramp during a test on Sept. 10, 2010, inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasa...
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Test operators monitor how NASA's Mars rover Curiosity handles driving over a ramp during a test on Sept. 10, 2010, inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Eyes on Curiosity Rover's Driving
The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the clay-bearing unit on February 3, 2019 (Sol 2309). This landscape includes the rocky landmark nicknam...
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The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the clay-bearing unit.
Curiosity Surveys the 'Clay-Bearing Unit'
Two images of the night sky were combined to show Earth and Venus as seen by the Mast Camera aboard NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on June 5, 2020, the 2,784th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Bot...
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Earth and Venus as seen by the Mast Camera aboard NASA's Curiosity Mars rover
Curiosity Rover Finds Earth and Venus in the Martian Sky
This images shows the powered descent, crane and flyaway portions of edl.
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This images shows the powered descent, crane and flyaway portions of edl.
Powered Descent, Sky Crane & Flyaway
NASA's Curiosity finds crystals, Opportunity celebrates her 5,000th day on Mars and the MarCO smallsats get solar arrays.
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NASA's Curiosity finds crystals, Opportunity celebrates her 5,000th day on Mars and the MarCO smallsats get solar arrays.
Mars Report: February 2018
An area inside Holden crater was considered as a landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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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
This close-up view of a stone found in San Diego was taken by a testing twin -- the "life test unit" -- of the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory.
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This close-up view of a stone found in San Diego was taken by a testing twin -- the "life test unit" -- of the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory.
Test Close-Up of Earth Cobble by Mars Camera
No bones about it! Seen by Mars rover Curiosity using its MastCam, this Mars rock may look like a femur thigh bone. Mission science team members think its shape is likely sculpted by erosion, eithe...
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This Mars rock may look like a femur thigh bone, but its shape is likely sculpted by erosion, either wind or water.
Bone up on Mars Rock Shapes
This series of pie charts shows similarities and differences in the mineral composition of mudstone at 10 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock-powder samples and analyzed them wit...
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This series of pie charts shows similarities and differences in the mineral composition of mudstone at 10 sites where NASA's Curiosity Mars rover collected rock-powder samples and analyzed them with the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument.
Mudstone Mineralogy from Curiosity's CheMin, 2013 to 2016
This evenly layered rock photographed by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows a pattern typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit not far from where flowing water entere...
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This evenly layered rock photographed by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows a pattern typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit not far from where flowing water entered a lake.
Sedimentary Signs of a Martian Lakebed
This image, taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, shows the transition between the "Murray Formation," in which layers are poorly expressed and difficult to tra...
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This image shows a base map of Mount Sharp with the transition between the "Murray Formation," with the rover's old path marked in white and the new path marked in yellow.
Geological Transition
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians guide the backshell as it is lowered over NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, f...
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In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians guide the backshell as it is lowered over NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, for encapsulation.
Backshell Meets Rover!

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