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Desolate Landscape

mars rover, desert, dune, test, Scarecrow - Scientist Rob Sullivan hikes up the side of a giant dune, leaving a long trail of footprints in the sand.

June 05, 2014

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curio...
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At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, is being placed on the spacecraft's heat shield.
Connecting Curiosity's Heat Shield and Back Shell
This Jan. 13, 2015, view from the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows outcomes of a mini-drill test to assess whether the "Mojave" rock is appropriate for full-depth drilling...
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This Jan. 13, 2015, view from the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows outcomes of a mini-drill test to assess whether the "Mojave" rock is appropriate for full-depth drilling to collect a sample. Cracking of the rock has made freshly exposed surfaces available for inspection.
Results from Curiosity's Mini-Drill Test at 'Mojave'
This image of a calibration target illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens I0he robotic arm of NASA's Mars r...
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This image of a calibration target illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.
First Night Image of MAHLI Calibration Target in White Lighting
This Dec. 5, 2015, view of the undisturbed surface of a Martian sand dune called "High Dune" shows coarse grains remaining on the surface after wind removal of smaller particles. The image covers a...
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This Dec. 5, 2015, view of the undisturbed surface of a Martian sand dune called "High Dune" shows coarse grains remaining on the surface after wind removal of smaller particles. The image covers an area 1.4 inches across. It was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).
Surface Close-up of a Martian Sand Dune
This image shows the wall of a scuffmark NASA's Curiosity made in a windblown ripple of Martian sand with its wheel.
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This image shows the wall of a scuffmark NASA's Curiosity made in a windblown ripple of Martian sand with its wheel.
High-Resolution View of Cross-Section Through a Mars Ripple
This artist's concept depicts the moment immediately after NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface.
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This artist's concept depicts the moment immediately after NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface.
A Moment After Curiosity's Touchdown, Artist's Concept
This oblique view of the mound in Gale crater shows several different rock types of interest to the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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This oblique view of the mound in Gale crater shows several different rock types of interest to the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Rock Types in Gale Crater
Members of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission listen to a voice message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in the mission support area at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The message, which h...
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Interplanetary Voicemail
Interplanetary Voicemail
NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT).
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NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT).
Curiosity Spotted on Parachute by Orbiter
This diagram shows how materials analyzed by ChemCam during the first 100 Martian days of the mission (Aug. 5, 2012, to Nov. 16, 2013) differed with regard to hydrogen content (horizontal axis) and...
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This diagram shows how materials analyzed by ChemCam during the first 100 Martian days of the mission (Aug. 5, 2012, to Nov. 16, 2013) differed with regard to hydrogen content (horizontal axis) and alkali (vertical axis).
Curiosity's ChemCam Analyzes Rocks, Soils and Dust
This image of a Martian rock illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the...
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This image of a Martian rock illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.
MAHLI's First Night Imaging of Martian Rock, White Lighting
Testing of the cruise stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory in August 2010 included a session in a facility that simulates the environment found in interplanetary space.
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Testing of the cruise stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory in August 2010 included a session in a facility that simulates the environment found in interplanetary space.
Mars Science Laboratory's Cruise Stage in Test Chamber
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 December 2016, which is in the upper half of a geological unit cal...
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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 December 2016, which is in the upper half of a geological unit called the Murray formation, on lower Mount Sharp.
Late 2016 Map of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Mission
A swept Martian rock called "Bonanza King" can be seen in this image take by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover.
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This image shows Bonanza King rock with a brown surface and in the middle is a partly drilled spot shown in lighter blue.
A Bonanza of Clues About Mars
Rhythmic patterns of sedimentary layering in Danielson Crater on Mars result from periodic changes in climate related to changes in tilt of the planet.
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Rhythmic patterns of sedimentary layering in Danielson Crater on Mars result from periodic changes in climate related to changes in tilt of the planet.
Rhythmic Layering in Danielson Crater on Mars
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera to capture this view on April 11, 2015, during passage through a valley called "Artist's Drive" on the route up Mount Sharp.
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera to capture this view on April 11, 2015, during passage through a valley called "Artist's Drive" on the route up Mount Sharp.
Scene From 'Artist's Drive' on Mars
This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky.
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This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky.
Bright 'Evening Star' Seen from Mars is Earth
This full-resolution image shows part of the deck of NASA's Curiosity rover taken from one of the rover's Navigation cameras looking toward the back left of the rover.
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A Clear Look at the Rover Deck
A Clear Look at the Rover Deck
This image shows the first holes into rock drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole and later discarde...
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This image shows the first holes into rock drilled by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole and later discarded after other portions of the sample had been delivered to analytical instruments inside the rover.
Dust from Mars Drilling: Tailings and Discard Piles
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...
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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
This view taken from orbit around Mars shows the sand dune that will be the first to be visited by NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover along its route to higher layers of Mount Sharp.
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This view taken from orbit around Mars shows the sand dune that will be the first to be visited by NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover along its route to higher layers of Mount Sharp.
Orbital View of Dune That Curiosity Will Visit
Engineers just installed six new wheels on the Curiosity rover, and rotated all six wheels at once on July 9, 2010.
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Curiosity Spins Its Wheels
Curiosity Spins Its Wheels
These images and overlay bar charts from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover indicate where some high-potassium material is localized within mineral veins a...
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These images and overlay bar charts from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover indicate where some high-potassium material is localized within mineral veins at "Garden City."
Dark, Thin Fracture-Filling Material
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...
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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 capture this vista on Aug. 27, 2015. Similarly textured sandstone is common in the U.S. Southwest.
Vista from Curiosity Shows Crossbedded Martian Sandstone
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Atlas V rocket's payload fairing containing the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft stands securely a...
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In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Atlas V rocket's payload fairing containing the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft stands securely atop the transporter that will carry it to Space Launch Complex 41.
Transporting Fairing to Launch Pad

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