Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Replicating Martian Dunes

sand dune, mars rover, wheel, Dumont, Scarecrow, test - This image shows a row of uphill, white sand dunes that JPL engineers shape with long rakes for desert rover test, under blue skies. The Scarecrow rover sits at the bottom, waiting to be tested.

June 05, 2014

Credit

NASA/JPL-Caltech

ENLARGE

Related

Teachers at the Educator Workshop listen attentively to a demonstration of Microsoft’s Kodu Mars Experience, a software program that allows students to design and create their own computer games.
More
Teachers at the Curiosity Educator Workshop listen attentively to a demonstration of Microsoft's Kodu Mars Experience, a software program that allows students to design and create their own computer games.
The Kodu Mars Experience
Engineers use the Scarecrow rover to test driving on different types of terrain. In this image, the rover was taken out to the Dumont Dunes in California's Mojave Desert, near Death Valley for tes...
More
mars rover, desert, dune, test, Scarecrow - Waiting on the sand for its test drive to support Mars rover Curiosity is the car-size Scarecrow rover.
Curiosity's Stunt Double
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.
More
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
The total distance driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity passed the one-mile mark a few days before the first anniversary of the rover's landing on Mars.
More
The total distance driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity passed the one-mile mark a few days before the first anniversary of the rover's landing on Mars.
Full Curiosity Traverse Passes One-Mile Mark
This oblique, southward-looking view of Gale crater shows the landing site and the mound of layered rocks that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will investigate.
More
This oblique, southward-looking view of Gale crater shows the landing site and the mound of layered rocks that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will investigate.
Context of Curiosity Landing Site in Gale Crater, with Ellipse
The heritage for investigations with the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover comes from NASA's Odyssey orbiter.
More
The heritage for investigations with the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover comes from NASA's Odyssey orbiter.
Laying the Groundwork for Curiosity's DAN
This engineering drawing shows the arm on NASA's Curiosity's rover in its "ready- for-action" position, or "ready out" as engineers say, in addition to the position it assumes to drop off samples.
More
This engineering drawing shows the arm on NASA's Curiosity's rover in its "ready- for-action" position, or "ready out" as engineers say, in addition to the position it assumes to drop off samples.
Flexing Curiosity's Arm
This video steps viewers through a portion of the choreography needed to land NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. It starts with a computer simulation from NASA's Eyes on the Solar System program and ...
More
What It's Like to Land On Mars
What It's Like to Land On Mars
Engineers and technicians have been planning for months and working for weeks on the big move for NASA's Mars Curiosity rover.
More
The Big Move for Next Mars Rover
The Big Move for Next Mars Rover
Beyond a dark sand dune closer to the rover, a Martian dust devil passes in front of the horizon in this sequence of images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. The rover's Navigation Camera made this...
More
Beyond a dark sand dune closer to the rover, a Martian dust devil passes in front of the horizon in this sequence of images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. The rover's Navigation Camera made this series of observations on Feb. 4, 2017, during the local afternoon in Mars' Gale Crater.
Dust Devil Passes Near Martian Sand Dune
Wheels were first attached to NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover in August 2008.
More
Next NASA Mars Rover Gets Its Wheels
Next NASA Mars Rover Gets Its Wheels
The men and women behind the dramatic landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars in August 2012 were honored with the 2013 Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautics Association.
More
The men and women behind the dramatic landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars in August 2012 were honored with the 2013 Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautics Association.
Team Behind Curiosity Receives Collier Trophy
This cutaway view shows the internal chambers of the Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device, attached to the turret at the end of the robotic arm on NASA's Curios...
More
This cutaway view shows the internal chambers of the Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device, attached to the turret at the end of the robotic arm on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
Internal Chambers of CHIMRA
This image was taken inside a large 'clean room,' where ATLO (Assembly, Testing, and Launch Operations) is taking place for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. In the foreground on the right are e...
More
This image was taken inside a large 'clean room,' where ATLO (Assembly, Testing, and Launch Operations) is taking place for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. In the foreground on the right are electronic components and to the left is a man leaning over the components. He is dressed in all white protective clothing, including a face mask and gloves.
Keeping Time to a New Rover Beat
This view of "Vera Rubin Ridge" from the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows sedimentary layers, mineral veins and effects of wind erosion. ChemCam's telescopic Remote Micro-Ima...
More
This view of "Vera Rubin Ridge" from the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows sedimentary layers, mineral veins and effects of wind erosion. ChemCam's telescopic Remote Micro-Imager took the 10 component images of this scene on Aug. 24, 2017, from about 141 feet away.
Erosion Effects on "Vera Rubin Ridge," Mars
This movie from NASA's Curiosity rover shows all the "thumbnail" (low-resolution) frames acquired by the Mars Descent Imager between the jettison of the heat shield and touchdown. The video, obtain...
More
Dropping in on Mars: A Rover's Eye View
Dropping in on Mars: A Rover's Eye View
This video (part 3 of a 4 part series) shows engineers testing a new parachute in the largest wind tunnel on Earth for the Curiosity rover prior to its landing on August 2012.
More
The Martians: Testing Curiosity's Parachute - Part 3
The Martians: Testing Curiosity's Parachute - Part 3
The suspension system on NASA Mars rover Curiosity easily accommodates rolling over a ramp in this Sept. 10, 2010, test drive inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labora...
More
The suspension system on NASA Mars rover Curiosity easily accommodates rolling over a ramp in this Sept. 10, 2010, test drive inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
NASA's Next Mars Rover on a Test Drive
A NASA Mars Science Laboratory test rover called the Vehicle System Test Bed, or VSTB, serves as the closest double for Curiosity in evaluations of the mission's hardware and software.
More
A NASA Mars Science Laboratory test rover called the Vehicle System Test Bed, or VSTB, serves as the closest double for Curiosity in evaluations of the mission's hardware and software.
Testing Precision of Movement of Curiosity's Robotic Arm
This map shows where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has driven since landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and traveling to an overlook position near beside "Point Lake," in drives ...
More
This map shows where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has driven since landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and traveling to an overlook position near beside "Point Lake," in drives totaling 1,703 feet (519 meters).
Curiosity Rover's Traverse, August through November 2012
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...
More
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
During final stacking of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, the heat shield is positioned for integration with the rest of the spacecraft in this photograph from inside the Payload Hazardou...
More
During final stacking of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, the heat shield is positioned for integration with the rest of the spacecraft in this photograph from inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Mars Science Laboratory Heat Shield Integration for Flight
The Martian outcrop where pale rock meets darker overlying rock near the middle of this view is an example of a geological contact.
More
The Martian outcrop where pale rock meets darker overlying rock near the middle of this May 21, 2015, view is an example of a geological contact. Such contacts can reveal clues about how environmental conditions that produced one type of rock were related to conditions that produced the other.
Rover's Reward for Climbing: Exposed Geological Contact
Guided tour of the NASA Curiosity Mars rover's flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center.
More
Curiosity at Kennedy Space Center
Curiosity at Kennedy Space Center
Engineers put the rover through thousands of hours of testing. They did drop tests; pull tests; drive tests; load tests, and many other tests to get Curiosity ready for launch.
More
Challenges of Getting to Mars: Getting a Rover Ready for Launch
Challenges of Getting to Mars: Getting a Rover Ready for Launch

You Might Also Like

155 students from across the U.S. have been chosen as semifinalists in NASA's essay contest to name the Mars 2020 rover, and see it launch from Cape Canaveral this July.
More
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Closer to Getting Its Name
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Closer to Getting Its Name
Through Nov. 1, K-12 students in the U.S. are encouraged to enter an essay contest to name NASA's next Mars rover.
More
NASA Invites Students to Name Mars 2020 Rover
NASA Invites Students to Name Mars 2020 Rover
The rover recently drilled two samples, and both showed the highest levels of clay ever found during the mission.
More
NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Finds a Clay Cache
NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Finds a Clay Cache
For the first time, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter has caught the Martian moon Phobos during a full moon phase. Each color in this new image represents a temperature range detected by Odyssey's infrared camera.
More
Why This Martian Full Moon Looks Like Candy
Why This Martian Full Moon Looks Like Candy
Nominees include four JPL projects: the solar system and climate websites, InSight social media, and a 360-degree Earth video. Public voting closes April 18, 2019.
More
NASA Garners 7 Webby Award Nominations
NASA Garners 7 Webby Award Nominations
NASA's Opportunity Mars rover mission is complete after 15 years on Mars. Opportunity's record-breaking exploration laid the groundwork for future missions to the Red Planet.
More
NASA's Opportunity Rover Mission on Mars Comes to End
NASA's Opportunity Rover Mission on Mars Comes to End