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Media Meet NASA's Mars 2020 Rover and Builders
A member of the media interviews mission team member Jessica Samuels inside JPL’s High Bay 1 clean room on Dec. 27, 2019, during Mars 2020 media day.
December 27, 2019
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Media Meet NASA's Mars 2020 Rover and Builders
During their only opportunity to see NASA's next Mars rover from inside JPL's clean room prior to its shipment to Cape Canaveral, members of the media interview the builders of the Mars 2020 mission.
December 27, 2019
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Spirit and Opportunity in High Bay 1
High Bay 1 looks much as it does today in this photo of NASA's Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers being tested on Feb. 10, 2003.
December 23, 2019
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High Bay 1 in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility
The High Bay 1 clean room within the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL is seen in this image taken on Nov. 12, 2019. The Mars 2020 rover is visible just above center.
December 23, 2019
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Mars 2020 Rover Is Roving
In a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, engineers observed the first driving test for NASA's Mars 2020 rover on Dec. 17, 2019.
December 18, 2019
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Mars 2020 Makes Tracks for the Red Planet in the Mars Yard
An engineering model of NASA's Mars 2020 rover makes tracks during a driving test in the Mars Yard, an area that simulates Mars-like conditions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
December 17, 2019
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Map of NASA's Mars Landing Sites
This map of the Red Planet shows Jezero Crater, where NASA's Mars 2020 rover is scheduled to land in February 2021. Also included are the locations where all of NASA's other successful Mars missions touched down.
December 17, 2019
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Side-by-Side: Curiosity and Mars 2020
Illustrations of NASA's Curiosity and Mars 2020 rovers. While the newest rover borrows from Curiosity's design, each has its own role in the ongoing exploration of Mars and the search for ancient life.
December 10, 2019
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Some Differences Between Mars 2020 and Curiosity
NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks virtually the same as Curiosity, but there are a number of differences.
December 10, 2019
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Power for Mars 2020
Power for Mars 2020
The electricity needed to operate NASA's Mars 2020 rover (pictured here) is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG. Not pictured in this image, the MMRTG will be placed in the aft of the rover.
November 21, 2019
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Twelve and Twenty
(Left) Apollo 12 astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. stands beside NASA's Surveyor 3 spacecraft; the lunar module Intrepid can be seen in the distance. (Right) Mars 2020 rover, seen here in an artist's concept, will make history's most accurate landing on a planetary body when it lands at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
November 20, 2019
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Researching Outback Stromatolites
Scientists from NASA's Mars 2020 and ESA's ExoMars projects study stromatolites, the oldest confirmed fossilized lifeforms on Earth, in the Pilbara region of North West Australia. The image was taken on Aug. 19, 2019.
November 15, 2019
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Jezero Crater's Ancient Lakeshore
Lighter colors represent higher elevation in this image of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The oval indicates the landing ellipse, where the rover will be touching down on Mars.
November 12, 2019
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Jezero Crater Minerals
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 especially good at preserving fossilized life on Earth.
November 12, 2019
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NASA's Mars 2020 Rover in Test Chamber
In this time-lapse video taken at JPL, engineers move the Mars 2020 rover into a large vacuum chamber for testing in Mars-like environmental conditions.
November 7, 2019
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A Light Touch Required for NASA's Mars 2020 Rover
An engineer working on NASA's Mars 2020 mission uses a solar intensity probe to measure and compare the amount of artificial sunlight that reaches different portions of the rover.
October 30, 2019
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That's One Small Step for a Mars Rover
This time-lapse video, taken on Oct. 8, 2019, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, captures the first time the Mars 2020 rover carries its full weight on its legs and wheels.
October 24, 2019
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Mars 2020 Unwrapped and Ready for Testing
In time-lapse video bunny-suited engineers remove the inner layer of protective foil on NASA's Mars 2020 rover after it was moved to a different building at JPL for testing.
October 18, 2019
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NASA Mars 2020 Rover Separation Test
Engineers and technicians working on the Mars 2020 spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, look on as a crane lifts the rocket-powered descent stage away from the rover after a test.
October 4, 2019
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Send Your Name to Mars With Brad Pitt
The actor Brad Pitt (right) shows off his "boarding pass" for Mars with Jennifer Trosper (left), the Mars 2020 project systems engineer, at JPL on Sept. 6, 2019. You can send your name to Mars aboard NASA's Mars 2020 rover at go.nasa.gov/mars2020pass until Sept. 30, 2019.
September 18, 2019
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Rover Rotisserie
Speeded up 28 times, this time-lapse shows NASA's Mars 2020 rover on a spin table at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Aug. 29, 2019. Engineers were looking to establish the rover's center of gravity, or the point at which weight is evenly dispersed on all sides.
September 12, 2019
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Mars Helicopter Installed on Mars 2020 Rover
Engineers attached NASA's Mars Helicopter to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover on Aug. 27, 2019, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
August 28, 2019
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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
