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Clues for Mars in the Australian Outback
Scientists with NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European-Russian ExoMars mission traveled to the Australian Outback to hone their research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Planet in the summer of 2020 to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.
August 23, 2019
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A Little Bit Carousel Higher
In this image, taken on Aug. 5, 2019, engineers at NASA's JPL lift the Mars 2020 rover's bit carousel from its storage container. The bit carousel is at the heart of the rover's Sample Caching System.
August 15, 2019
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Cache and Carry
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.
August 15, 2019
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Sample Return Firsts
From left to right: Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands on the Moon; 47 pounds (21.5 kilograms) of samples were brought back to Earth from that mission; the Mars 2020 rover, seen here in an artist's concept rover, will be taking the first planetary samples at Jezero Crater, Mars (on right).
August 13, 2019
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Mars Helicopter Arrives in Clean Room
Members from NASA's Mars Helicopter and Mars 2020 teams stand behind the Mars Helicopter.
August 6, 2019
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The Tippy Top of Mars 2020
This image, taken in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on July 23, 2019, shows a close-up of the head of Mars 2020's remote sensing mast.
August 5, 2019
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A Clean Room With a View
The Mars 2020 rover undergoes an "eye" exam after several cameras were installed. The rover carries everything from wide-angle landscape cameras to narrow-angle high-resolution zoom lens cameras. The image was taken on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
August 5, 2019
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Testing Mars 2020's 20/20 Vision
In this image, engineers test cameras on the top of the Mars 2020 rover’s mast and front chassis. The image was taken on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
August 5, 2019
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An Eye Chart for Mars 2020
Engineer Chris Chatellier stands next to a target board with 1,600 dots. The board was one of several used on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to calibrate the forward-facing cameras on the Mars 2020 rover.
August 5, 2019
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NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Robotic Arm Is on the Move
In this image, taken July 19, 2019, in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL, the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm maneuvers its 88-pound (40-kilogram) sensor-laden turret as it moves from a deployed to a stowed configuration.
July 26, 2019
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In the Belly of the Mars 2020 Beast
In this image, taken on June 1, 2019, an engineer in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, works on the exposed belly of the Mars 2020 rover. It has been inverted to allow the 2020 engineers and technicians easier access.
July 24, 2019
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Power for Mars 2020
The electricity for NASA's Mars 2020 rover is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG. The MMRTG will be inserted into the aft end of the rover between the panels with gold tubing visible at the rear, which are called heat exchangers.
July 24, 2019
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Attaching Mars 2020's Turret
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.
July 17, 2019
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Mars 2020's Hot Wheels
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.
July 12, 2019
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Installing SuperCam on the Mars 2020 Rover
Engineers install the SuperCam instrument on Mars 2020's rover. This image was taken on June 25, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
July 2, 2019
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At Arm's Length
On June 21, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory install the main robotic arm on the Mars 2020 rover.
June 28, 2019
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NASA's Next Mars Rover (Cartoon)
This cartoon depicts NASA's next Mars rover, which launches in 2020.
June 25, 2019
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This Is What a Pit Stop Looks Like at JPL
In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers prepare the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — for integration onto NASA's Mars 2020 rover.
June 20, 2019
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Mars 2020 Gets Its Wheels
In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers at JPL install the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover.
June 20, 2019
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Mars 2020 Mast Goes On
Engineers and technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the remote sensing mast on the Mars 2020 rover.
June 14, 2019
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Mars 2020 and Friends
Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover.
June 14, 2019
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SHERLOC Calibration Target in the Clean Room
This is the first Mars flight hardware that has been designed, assembled & tested at NASA-Johnson Space Center, led by Jacobs/JETS Chief Scientist Trevor Graff.
June 12, 2019
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Mars 2020 SHERLOC Calibration Target
Calibration Target for the Mars 2020 Scanning Habitable Environ-ments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) Instrument.
June 12, 2019
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Spacesuit Material Going to Mars
This calibration target for Mars 2020's SHERLOC instrument includes five samples of spacesuit material, the first to ever be flown to the Red Planet. By studying how these samples degrade in the Martian environment, engineers can develop better spacesuits.
June 12, 2019
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First Humans on Mars
This artist's concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. NASA's Mars 2020 rover will carry a number of technologies that could make Mars safer and easier to explore for humans.
June 12, 2019
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NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Gets HD Eyes
Technicians install a Mastcam-Z high-definition camera in the remote sensing mast that will later go on NASA's Mars 2020 rover.
May 31, 2019
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NASA's Mars 2020 Mission Drops in on Death Valley
Flight tests of the Mars 2020 Lander Vision System, which will help guide NASA's next Mars mission to a safe touchdown on the Red Planet, are taking place in the California desert.
May 24, 2019
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Prepping Mars 2020 for Sound
NASA's Mars 2020 spacecraft undergoes examination prior to an acoustic test in the Environmental Test Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
May 23, 2019
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Mars 2020 Spacecraft Gets Cold
Engineers prepare the Mars 2020 spacecraft for a thermal vacuum (TVAC) test in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
May 23, 2019
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The Mars 2020 Spacecraft Readies for Testing
The completed spacecraft that will carry the Mars 2020 rover to the Red Planet, next year hangs suspended by cables inside the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on May 9, 2019.
May 23, 2019
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Mars 2020 Is Coming Together
An engineer inspects the completed spacecraft that will carry NASA's next Mars rover to the Red Planet.
May 17, 2019
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Rover Getting Set to Motor
Technicians working on the Mars 2020 rover at JPL install the rover motor controller assembly, the electrical heart of the rover's mobility and motion systems.
May 9, 2019
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Now Mars 2020 Can Phone Home
Mars 2020 engineers and technicians installed the high-gain antenna on the rover's equipment deck in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL.
May 3, 2019
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Mars 2020 Is Wired for Sound
Engineers and technicians working on NASA's Mars 2020 mission prepare spacecraft components for acoustic testing in the Environmental Test Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
April 24, 2019
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Mars 2020 Components in High Bay
This image shows major components of NASA's Mars 2020 mission in the High Bay 1 clean room in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
April 18, 2019
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Taking Mars 2020 Integration Head-on
A member of NASA's Mars 2020 project checks connections between the spacecraft's back shell and cruise stage at NASA's Jet propulsion Laboratory on March 26, 2019.
April 11, 2019
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This Is One Mars Rover With MOXIE
Members of NASA’s Mars 2020 project install the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) into the chassis of NASA’s next Mars rover.
April 5, 2019
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Prepping for a Mars Helicopter Test
Bob Balaram, Teddy Tzanetos and Havard Grip from the NASA Mars Helicopter project discuss the sequence of events for the day’s flight testing.
March 28, 2019
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Monitoring the Mars Helicopter
Teddy Tzanetos, MiMi Aung and Bob Balaram of NASA’s Mars Helicopter project observe a flight test.
March 28, 2019
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Mars Helicopter Prototype
This image depicts the demonstration vehicle used to prove that controlled, and sustained flight is feasible in a Martian atmosphere.
March 28, 2019
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This Helicopter is Going to Mars
More than 1,500 individual pieces of carbon fiber, flight-grade aluminum, silicon, copper, foil and foam go into a Mars Helicopter.
March 28, 2019
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Composing Mars Helicopter
Members of NASA’s Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film enclosure to the fuselage of the flight model (the actual vehicle going to the Red Planet).
March 28, 2019
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Mars Helicopter Team Prepares for Test
Members of NASA’s Mars Helicopter team prepare the flight model (vehicle going to Mars) for a test in the Space Simulator.
March 28, 2019
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Inspecting Mars Helicopter
Members of the NASA Mars Helicopter team inspect the flight model (the actual vehicle going to the Red Planet), inside the Space Simulator.
March 28, 2019
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Handling Mars Helicopter
Members of the NASA Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film to the exterior of the flight model of the Mars Helicopter.
March 28, 2019
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Working Mars Helicopter
NASA Mars Helicopter team members work the flight model (the vehicle going to Mars) in the Space Simulator.
March 28, 2019
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Portrait of NASA's Mars Helicopter
This image of the flight model of NASA’s Mars Helicopter was taken on Feb. 14, 2019, in a cleanroom at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
March 28, 2019
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Mars 2020 System Test 1
Technicians working Mars 2020’s System’s Test 1 approach their workstation in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
March 19, 2019
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Lonely Vigil
With the backshell that will help protect the Mars 2020 rover during its descent into the Martian atmosphere visible in the foreground, a technician on the project monitors the progress of Systems Test 1.
March 19, 2019
