Sandy Dunes

This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows the parachute and back shell that helped guide NASA's Curiosity to the surface of Mars.

NASA's Perseverance rover has been on the surface of Mars since February of 2021, joining NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been studying the Red Planet since 2012.

Large-scale crossbedding in the sandstone of this ridge on a lower slope of Mars' Mount Sharp is typical of windblown sand dunes that have petrified. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam to...

This image, taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, shows the transition between the "Murray Formation," in which layers are poorly expressed and difficult to tra...

Essay Winner's Signature on NASA's Curiosity Rover

This patch of Martian bedrock, about 2 feet (70 centimeters) across, is finely layered rock with some pea-size inclusions. It lies near the lowest point of the "Pahrump Hills" outcrop, which forms ...

At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane is being lowered over a rocket-powered descent stage for integration with NASA's Mars Scienc...

​ NASA's Curiosity rover used an instrument called SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) to detect seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly...

Two 2001 images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance during a dust storm.

Mars Rover Photosynth

This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the open inlet where powdered rock and soil samples will be funneled down for analysis.

These before-and-after images show the effects of weights from the entry vehicle of NASA's Curiosity rover hitting the surface of Mars.

This May 25, 2015, view from the Curiosity rover's Mastcam shows a site where two different types of bedrock meet near "Marias Pass" on Mount Sharp. Pale mudstone in the foreground is like bedrock ...

This diagram depicts rivers entering a lake. Where the water's flow decelerates, sediments drop out, and a delta forms, depositing a prism of sediment that tapers out toward the lake's interior. Pr...

Goal 3: Characterize the geology of Mars

This illustration shows the locations and interactions of volatiles on Mars. Volatiles are molecules that readily evaporate, converting to their gaseous form, such as water and carbon dioxide.

This Jan. 19, 2016, self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at "Namib Dune," where the rover's activities included scuffing into the dune with a wheel and scooping samples of...

This 3D view of the calibration target for the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity was assembled from two images taken by that camera during the 34th Martian day, or so...

This graphic shows the pattern of winds predicted to be swirling around and inside Gale Crater, which is where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars.

After a rocket-powered descent stage, also known as the sky crane, delivered NASA's Curiosity rover to Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT), 2012, it flew away and fell to the surface.

This view of the lower front and underbelly areas of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines nine images taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 34th Martian day, or sol, of Cur...

This artist's animation shows how orbiters over Mars will monitor the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover. (No audio)

This video, taken by one of the Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, shows the rover's robotic arm as it rotates to take a selfie. A camera at the end of the arm captured...

This detailed panorama from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a view toward two areas on lower Mount Sharp chosen for close-up inspection: "Mount Shields" and "Logan Pa...

This image shows the Highfield drill hole made by NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover as it was collecting a sample on “Vera Rubin Ridge” in Gale Crater.