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Meet the new MSL Rover

May 26, 2009

Meet the new MSL Rover

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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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 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 image shows the first holes drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity at Mount Sharp.
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This image shows the first holes drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity at Mount Sharp. The loose material near the drill holes is drill tailings and an accumulation of dust that slid down the rock during drilling.
'Confidence Hills' - The First Mount Sharp Drilling Site (Labeled)
In a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay," the NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove to an edge of the feature during the 130th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Dec. 17, 2012) and used its Nav...
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In a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay," the NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove to an edge of the feature during the 130th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Dec. 17, 2012) and used its Navigation Camera to record this view of the ledge at the margin and a view across the "bay."
At Edge of 'Yellowknife Bay,' Sol 130
This image shows the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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This image shows the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Destination for Mars Rover Curiosity
This color image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows an area excavated by the blast of the Mars Science Laboratory’s descent stage rocket engines
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This color image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows an area excavated by the blast of the Mars Science Laboratory's descent stage rocket engines
Exposed by Rocket Engine Blasts
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane.
Curiosity Arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Center
This view from NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows the downwind side of a dune about 13 feet high within the Bagnold Dunes field on Mars. The rover's Navigation Camera took the component images on De...
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This view from NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows the downwind side of a dune about 13 feet high within the Bagnold Dunes field on Mars. The rover's Navigation Camera took the component images on Dec. 17, 2015. As on Earth, the downwind side of an active sand dune has a steep slope called a slip face.
Slip face on Downwind Side of 'Namib' Sand Dune on Mars
In the middle of this image, three wheels are shown raised by a lift, with engineers on both sides of the wheels in the cleanroom, where the Curiosity rover is being assembled. The wheels are made ...
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In the middle of this image, three wheels are shown raised by a lift, with engineers on both sides of the wheels in the cleanroom, where the Curiosity rover is being assembled. The wheels are made out of aluminum but have a black coating, which prevents the wheels from slipping. The wheels are attached to dark poles, which bend like 'joints.' Several black and red cable wires are visible coming out of the poles. An engineer stands in the background holding a clipboard and looking closely at the rover. A desk and various tools are visible behind the wheels on the right.
New Wheels
The sensor head on the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument was installed during testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is part of the Curiosity rover, which will fly o...
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The sensor head on the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument was installed during testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is part of the Curiosity rover, which will fly on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. For perspective, the sensor head is 7.8 centimeters, or about 3 inches tall.
Sensor head on the Mars-bound APXS Instrument
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this 360-degree view using its Navigation Camera (Navcam) after a 17-foot (5.3 meter) drive on 477th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Dec. 8, 2...
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured this 360-degree view using its Navigation Camera (Navcam) after a 17-foot (5.3 meter) drive on 477th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Dec. 8, 2013).
Rocky Mars Ground Where Curiosity Has Been Driving
The geological context for the landing site of NASA's Curiosity rover is visible in this image mosaic obtained by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Recon...
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The geological context for the landing site of NASA's Curiosity rover is visible in this image mosaic obtained by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Staking out Curiosity's Landing Site
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 29th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 4, 2012).
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 29th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 4, 2012).
Curiosity Traverse Map Through Sol 29
This map shows in red the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the "Bradbury Landing" location where it landed in August 2012 to nearly the completion of its first Martian year. The whi...
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This map shows in red the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the "Bradbury Landing" location where it landed in August 2012 to nearly the completion of its first Martian year. The white line shows the planned route ahead. The rover's June 18, 2014, location is marked as 663.
Curiosity's Progress on Route to Mount Sharp
Self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover uses thumbnail versions of MAHLI component images to give an idea of what a sharper version will look like when the full-frame images are assembled.
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Self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover uses thumbnail versions of MAHLI component images to give an idea of what a sharper version will look like when the full-frame images are assembled.
Preliminary Self-Portrait of Curiosity by Rover's Arm Camera
In this image, about a dozen people watch the large Scarecrow rover drive over a grayish orange boulder in an outdoor sandbox. Scarecrow is about the size of a small compact car. Its 'legs,' (mobil...
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In this image, about a dozen people watch the large Scarecrow rover drive over a grayish orange boulder in an outdoor sandbox. Scarecrow is about the size of a small compact car. Its 'legs,' (mobility system) are a vibrant blue color and its large wheels are silver and covered in chevron-like cleats. Members of the media hold cameras.
Shutterbugs Shoot 'Scarecrow'
The Curiosity rover mission to Mars is one of NASA's most complex and incredible successes. This 45-second trailer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory takes you from designing and testing the rover ...
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Dare Mighty Things
Dare Mighty Things
These before-and-after images show the effects of weights from the entry vehicle of NASA's Curiosity rover hitting the surface of Mars.
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These before-and-after images show the effects of weights from the entry vehicle of NASA's Curiosity rover hitting the surface of Mars.
Ballasts Hitting the Surface, Close-Up
Current Rover Configuration
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Current Rover Configuration
Current Rover Configuration
An area inside Gale crater was selected as the landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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An area inside Gale crater was selected as the landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Gale Crater, the Selected Landing Site for Curiosity
Unlike previous rovers sent to Mars, Curiosity is a robot chemist seeking evidence of past habitability on Mars.
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The Science of Curiosity: Seeking Signs of Past Mars Habitability
The Science of Curiosity: Seeking Signs of Past Mars Habitability
Happy birthday song for Curiosity
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Happy Birthday Curiosity!
Happy Birthday Curiosity!
This is a view of the third (left) and fourth (right) trenches made by the 1.6-inch-wide (4-centimeter-wide) scoop on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity in October 2012.
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This is a view of the third (left) and fourth (right) trenches made by the 1.6-inch-wide (4-centimeter-wide) scoop on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity in October 2012.
Scoop Marks in the Sand at 'Rocknest'
The top of the rover's mast faces away in this May 11, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which shows the vehicle at the "Okoruso" drilling site on lower Mount Sharp. The scene is ...
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The top of the rover's mast faces away in this May 11, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which shows the vehicle at the "Okoruso" drilling site on lower Mount Sharp. The scene is a mosaic of multiple images taken with the arm-mounted Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI).
Curiosity Self-Portrait at 'Okoruso' Drill Hole, Mars, Facing Away
The image, at lower left, is annotated to show where the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurement on a rock outcrop (Spot 39) and on loose soil (S...
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The image, at lower left, is annotated to show where the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurement on a rock outcrop (Spot 39) and on loose soil (Spot 40) within the "Yellowknife Bay' area of Mars' Gale Crater.
Variation in Subsurface Water In 'Yellowknife Bay'
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

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In deploying its first instrument onto the surface of Mars, the lander completes a major mission milestone.
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