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CURIOSITY IMAGES

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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Sandstone layers with varying resistance to erosion are evident in this Martian scene recorded by the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Feb. 25, 2014, about one-quarter mile (about 400 ...
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Sandstone layers with varying resistance to erosion are evident in this Martian scene recorded by the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Feb. 25, 2004, about one-quarter mile (about 400 meters) from a planned waypoint called "the Kimberley."
Differential Erosion at Work on Martian Sandstones (White-Balanced, Annotated)
Cross-bedding seen in the layers of this Martian rock is evidence of movement of water recorded by waves or ripples of loose sediment the water passed over.
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Cross-bedding seen in the layers of this Martian rock is evidence of movement of water recorded by waves or ripples of loose sediment the water passed over.
Martian Rock's Evidence of Lake Currents
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket approaches a transporter for the move to Space ...
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In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket approaches a transporter for the move to Space Launch Complex 41.
Technicians Prepare to Move Payload Fairing
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.
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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 Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) camera will fly on the Curiosity rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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This Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) camera will fly on the Curiosity rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Mars Descent Imager for Curiosity
An engineering model for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory makes its way up a hill in the Mars Yard testing area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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An engineering model for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory makes its way up a hill in the Mars Yard testing area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"Scarecrow" Descends Hill
This diagram shows the location of each of the Curiosity Rover's ten science instruments.
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This diagram shows the location of each of the Curiosity Rover's ten science instruments.
Diagram of Curiosity Rover Instruments
The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite will weigh about 83 pounds (38 kilograms) and make up about half the science payload of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. It is a suite of three inst...
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This schematic drawing shows a rectangular metal frame divided into four sections - two flatter ones on the left and two deeper ones on the right - stacked on top of each other. Within the sections are the various solid-state components and reaction chambers that will be used to conduct chemical analysis of rock and soil samples on Mars.
Sample Analysis at Mars
This pair of images shows a "bite mark" where NASA's Curiosity rover scooped up some Martian soil (left), and the scoop carrying soil.
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This pair of images shows a "bite mark" where NASA's Curiosity rover scooped up some Martian soil (left), and the scoop carrying soil.
Curiosity Digs In (Annotated)
Curiosity monitors radiation and spots elusive whirlwinds on Mars.
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Wind and Radiation on Mars
Wind and Radiation on Mars
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity carries five cylindrical blocks of organic check material for use in a control experiment if the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory detects any organic com...
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity carries five cylindrical blocks of organic check material for use in a control experiment if the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory detects any organic compounds in samples of Martian soil or powdered rock.
Sealed Organic Check Material on Curiosity
This false-color image shows how special filters of the Curiosity Mars rover's Mastcam can help reveal certain minerals in target rocks. It is a composite of images taken Sept. 17, 2017, through th...
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This false-color image shows how special filters of the Curiosity Mars rover's Mastcam can help reveal certain minerals in target rocks. It is a composite of images taken Sept. 17, 2017, through three "science" filters chosen to make hematite, an iron-oxide mineral, stand out as exaggerated purple.
Science-Filters Study of Martian Rock Sees Hematite
This view combines several frames taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, looking into a valley to the west from the eastern side of a dune at the eastern end of the valley.
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This view combines several frames taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, looking into a valley to the west from the eastern side of a dune at the eastern end of the valley.
Martian Valley May Be Curiosity's Route (White-Balanced, Annotated)
This graphic shows the locations of the cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover.
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This graphic shows the locations of the cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover.
Seventeen Cameras on Curiosity
Engineers test the first-of-its-kind landing system on NASA's next Mars rover.
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Landing System Drop Test
Landing System Drop Test
A rock fragment dubbed "Lamoose" is shown in this picture taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover.
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A rock fragment dubbed "Lamoose" is shown in this picture taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover.
High-Silica 'Lamoose' Rock
This sequence of images from the Front Hazard-Avoidance Camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows the rover drilling into rock target "Cumberland." The drilling was performed during the 279th Ma...
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This is a sequence of images from the Front Hazard-Avoidance Camera on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity that shows the rover drilling into rock target "Cumberland."
Curiosity Mars Rover Drilling Into Its Second Rock
This image shows a close-up of the rock named "Crest," taken by the remote micro-imager (RMI) on Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument above the analysis of the elements detected by...
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This image shows a close-up of the rock named "Crest," taken by the remote micro-imager (RMI) on Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument above the analysis of the elements detected by using ChemCam's laser to zap the target.
Calcium-Rich Veins in Martian Rocks (Crest)
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover team wraps up its scientific study at Rocknest.
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Rover Results at Rocknest
Rover Results at Rocknest
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
​ 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...
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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 three Martian years (nearly six Earth years), peaking each summer.
Mars' Mysterious Methane
This image is from a test series used to characterize the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012, and looks south-southwest from the rover's landing site.
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This image is from a test series used to characterize the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012, and looks south-southwest from the rover's landing site.
Focusing the 100-millimeter Mastcam
This close-up view shows the rover Curiosity's parachute and back shell strewn across the surface of Mars.
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Evidence of a Job Well Done
Evidence of a Job Well Done
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from where it landed in 2012 to its location in early March 2016, approaching 'Naukluft Plateau.' As the rover continues up Mount Shar...
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from where it landed in 2012 to its location in early March 2016, approaching 'Naukluft Plateau.' As the rover continues up Mount Sharp, its science team has been refreshed by a second round of NASA participating-scientist selections.
New Waypoint, Science Team Newcomers for Curiosity
This graph compares a typical daily pattern of changing atmospheric pressure (blue) with the pattern during a regional dust storm hundreds of miles away (red).
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This graph compares a typical daily pattern of changing atmospheric pressure (blue) with the pattern during a regional dust storm hundreds of miles away (red).
Atmospheric Pressure Patterns Before and During Dust Storm

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