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Dunes Obstacle Course

sand dune, mars rover, wheel, Dumont, Scarecrow, test - Several engineers watch as the Scarecrow test rover goes over a dunes obstacle course.

June 05, 2014

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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As of June 2012, the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover inside NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, is the ellipse marked in black on this image.
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As of June 2012, the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover inside NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, is the ellipse marked in black on this image.
Target for Start of Driving by Mars Rover Curiosity
This image illustrates how spacecraft landings on Mars have become more and more precise over the years.
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Landing Accuracy on Mars: A Historical Perspective
Landing Accuracy on Mars: A Historical Perspective
This mosaic from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the view looking toward the "Glenelg" area, where three different terrain types come together.
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This mosaic from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the view looking toward the "Glenelg" area, where three different terrain types come together.
On the Road to Glenelg (Unannotated)
Curiosity's "eyes" (the Mastcam) are shrouded in a silvery material, awaiting their first look around the clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover is being built.
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This image shows a close-up of the rover's "head." At the top is a white box structure with a large red circle (the rover's laser called ChemCam) to the right. Beneath the box are two cameras, which will provide views of the Martian surface. They are covered with protective silvery material.
Close-Up View of Curiosity's "Head"
This image shows the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity with the first rock touched by an instrument on the arm.
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This image shows the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity with the first rock touched by an instrument on the arm.
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The hills and troughs in this little valley, carved between a ridge and cliffs higher up Mount Sharp, almost look like undulating waves. The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover cap...
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The hills and troughs in this little valley, carved between a ridge and cliffs higher up Mount Sharp, almost look like undulating waves.
Curiosity Sees 'Waves' in the Clay Unit
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This image shows inclined beds characteristic of delta deposits where a stream entered a lake, but at a higher elevation and farther south than other delta deposits north of Mount Sharp. This suggests multiple episodes of delta growth building southward. It is from Curiosity's Mastcam.
Multiple Episodes of Delta Growth in Gale Crater
The sand dunes on Earth sometimes resemble those on Mars. However, Martian dunes are many times larger than those we see on Earth. This image shows engineers seeking out the best place to test dr...
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sand dune, mars rover, wheel, Dumont, Scarecrow, test - The image shows a sweeping view of desert sand dunes with two engineers walking in the distance.
Mars on Earth
The "Shaler" outcrop is dramatically layered, as seen in this mosaic of telephoto images from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.
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The "Shaler" outcrop is dramatically layered, as seen in this mosaic of telephoto images from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.
Wide View of 'Shaler' Outcrop, Sol 120 (Raw-color)
The Martian soil examined by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the diffraction signature, or "fingerprint," of the mineral olivine, shown here on Eart...
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The Martian soil examined by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the diffraction signature, or "fingerprint," of the mineral olivine, shown here on Earth in the form of tumbled crystals about a quarter-inch (several millimeters) in size.
Olivine on Earth
This photo shows 70 members of the Mars Science Laboratory team in Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spacecraft Assembly Facility after they have prepared the spacecraft to go to a different area for the...
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This photo shows 70 members of the Mars Science Laboratory team in Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spacecraft Assembly Facility after they have prepared the spacecraft to go to a different area for the environmental tests. The team members are dressed in "bunny suits" (white protective gear) and are positioned in various poses in front of the spacecraft.
Mars Science Laboratory Talks, Rocks, Bakes and Chills (Team)
Modern-day Mars experiences cyclical changes in climate and, consequently, ice distribution. Unlike Earth, the obliquity (or tilt) of Mars changes substantially on timescales of hundreds of thousan...
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Modern-day Mars experiences cyclical changes in climate and, consequently, ice distribution. Unlike Earth, the obliquity (or tilt) of Mars changes substantially on timescales of hundreds of thousands to millions of years.
Changes in Tilt of Mars' Axis
An engineer dressed in white cleanroom coveralls (called a "bunny suit") works on the rover upside-down in its "backshell."
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This image shows an engineer dressed in cleanroom coverall working on the rover which is overhead.
Timeline Pre-Launch Bunny Suit
The 2013 list of the 100 most influential people named by TIME Magazine includes three men from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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Three JPLers Named Among the 'Most Influential'
This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area in "Bridger Basin" that includes the locations where the rover drilled a target called "Big Sky" on the missio...
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This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area in "Bridger Basin" that includes the locations where the rover drilled a target called "Big Sky" on the mission's Sol 1119 (Sept. 29, 2015) and a target called "Greenhorn" on Sol 1137 (Oct. 18, 2015).
'Big Sky' and 'Greenhorn' Drilling Area on Mount Sharp
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
It takes a whole team to operate Curiosity's arm. Pictured here are just a few of the team members who put their "muscle" to work every day to help operate Curiosity's arm on Mars.
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It takes a whole team to operate Curiosity's arm. Pictured here are just a few of the team members who put their "muscle" to work every day to help operate Curiosity's arm on Mars.
Sifting through the "Martian Soil"
This graphic tracks the maximum relative humidity and the temperature at which that maximum occurred each Martian day, or sol, for about one-fourth of a Martian year, as measured by the Remote Envi...
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This graphic tracks the maximum relative humidity and the temperature at which that maximum occurred each Martian day, or sol, for about one-fourth of a Martian year, as measured by the Remote Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
Humidity in Gale Crater: Scant and Variable
This image combines photographs taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at three different distances from the first Martian rock that NASA's Curiosity rover touched with its arm.
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This image combines photographs taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at three different distances from the first Martian rock that NASA's Curiosity rover touched with its arm.
Mars Hand Lens Imager Nested Close-Ups of Rock 'Jake Matijevic'
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover measures the concentration of methane in the atmosphere at Gale Crater. A one-time spike in methane, up to about 7 parts per billion occurred during Curiosity's first Ma...
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover measures the concentration of methane in the atmosphere at Gale Crater. A one-time spike in methane, up to about 7 parts per billion occurred during Curiosity's first Martian year. Variations in much lower background levels of methane may be seasonal.
Methane Background Levels at Gale Crater, Mars
This 360-degree vista was acquired on Aug. 5, 2016, by the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the rover neared features called "Murray Buttes" on lower Mount Sharp. The dark, flat-topped mes...
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This 360-degree vista was acquired on Aug. 5, 2016, by the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as the rover neared features called "Murray Buttes" on lower Mount Sharp. The dark, flat-topped mesa seen to the left of the rover's arm is about 50 feet high and, near the top, about 200 feet wide.
Rover's Panorama of Entrance to 'Murray Buttes' on Mars
The Curiosity Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) captured the rover's descent to the surface of the Red Planet. The instrument shot 4 fps video from heatshield separation to the ground. (No audio)
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Curiosity's Descent
Curiosity's Descent
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
Scientist Katie Stack Morgan examines rover images on her computer. Images, even 3-D stereo views, lack a natural sense of depth that human vision employs to understand spatial relationships.
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Scientist Katie Stack Morgan examines rover images on her computer. Images, even 3-D stereo views, lack a natural sense of depth that human vision employs to understand spatial relationships.
Mission Scientist Examines Mars Images on Her Computer
This global image shows seven possible landing sites for MSL.
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This global image shows seven possible landing sites for MSL.
Survivor: Mars - Seven Possible MSL Landing Sites

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