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Mars Science Laboratory Stacked Spacecraft

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft has been fully stacked for flight in this photograph from inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

October 11, 2011

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Test operators in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., monitor some of the first motions by the robotic arm on the Mars rover Curiosity after installation in August 2...
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Test operators in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., monitor some of the first motions by the robotic arm on the Mars rover Curiosity after installation in August 2010. This photo, taken Aug. 31, 2010, shows the arm in a partially extended position. The arm has a reach of about 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) from the front of the rover body.
Curiosity Mars Rover Flexes Its Robotic Arm
This image of a U.S. penny on a calibration target was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard NASA's Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars. At 14 micrometers per pixel, this is the high...
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This image of a U.S. penny on a calibration target was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard NASA's Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars. At 14 micrometers per pixel, this is the highest-resolution image that MAHLI can acquire.
Mars Hand Lens Imager Sends Ultra High-Res Photo from Mars
Testing of the robotic arm on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sept. 3, 2010, included movements of the arm while the rover was on a table tilted to 20 degrees to simulate a sloped surface on Mars.
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Testing of the robotic arm on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sept. 3, 2010, included movements of the arm while the rover was on a table tilted to 20 degrees to simulate a sloped surface on Mars.
Tilt-Table Testing for Curiosity's Robotic Arm
A NASA Dryden Flight Research Center F/A-18 852 aircraft makes a 40-degree dive toward Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during June 2011 flight tests of a Mars landing radar.
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A NASA Dryden Flight Research Center F/A-18 852 aircraft makes a 40-degree dive toward Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during June 2011 flight tests of a Mars landing radar.
Airborne Testing for Mars Landing Radar by Dryden F/A-18
This artist's animation shows how orbiters over Mars will monitor the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover. (No audio)
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Great Convergence of Spacecraft around Mars
Great Convergence of Spacecraft around Mars
Mawrth Vallis was considered as a landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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Mawrth Vallis was considered as a landing site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Mawrth Vallis, a Finalist Not Selected as a Landing Site for Curiosity
The sensor head on the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument was installed during testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is part of the Curiosity rover, which will fly o...
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The sensor head on the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument was installed during testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is part of the Curiosity rover, which will fly on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. For perspective, the sensor head is 7.8 centimeters, or about 3 inches tall.
Sensor head on the Mars-bound APXS Instrument
A wheel track cuts through a windblown ripple of dusty sand in this Nov. 7, 2014, image from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity rover. The view spans about four feet across. This experiment was planne...
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A wheel track cuts through a windblown ripple of dusty sand in this Nov. 7, 2014, image from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity rover. The view spans about four feet across. This experiment was planned for yielding a view of the inside of the ripple for assessment of particle sizes and composition.
Ripple's Interior Exposed by Rover Wheel Track
This image shows preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.
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This image shows preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.
Bright Days Ahead for Curiosity Mars Rover
Out of more than 30 sites considered as possible landing targets for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, by November 2008 four of the most intriguing places on Mars rose to the final round of t...
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Map showing 4 possible landing sites for MSL
Four Finalist Landing Site Candidates for Mars Science Laboratory
This diagram presents some of the processes and clues related to a long-ago lake on Mars that became stratified, with the shallow water richer in oxidants than deeper water was.
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Diagram of Lake Stratification on Mars
Diagram of Lake Stratification on Mars
The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission's rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.
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The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission's rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.
SAM Instrument at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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)
This scene combines images taken by the left-eye camera of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover during the midafternoon, local Mars solar time, of the mission's 526th...
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This scene combines images taken by the left-eye camera of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover during the midafternoon, local Mars solar time, of the mission's 526th Martian day, or sol (Jan. 28, 2014).
Curiosity Mars Rover Approaches 'Dingo Gap,' Mastcam View
The sparks that appear on the baseball-sized rock result from the laser of the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover hitting the rock. (No audio)
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Flash from Curiosity Rover's Laser Hitting a Martian Rock
Flash from Curiosity Rover's Laser Hitting a Martian Rock
The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover.
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The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover.
'Jake Matijevic' Contact Target for Curiosity
Technicians at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, put the instrument mast and science boom on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as C...
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Technicians at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, put the instrument mast and science boom on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, through a series of deployment tests.
Preparing the Mars Rover, Curiosity
This image provides an example of the type of data collected by the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover.
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This image provides an example of the type of data collected by the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover.
Example of a Spectrum from Curiosity's ChemCam Instrument
This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project.
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This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project.
Revised Landing Target for Mars Rover Curiosity
A New Perspective on Murray Ridge
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A New Perspective on Murray Ridge
A New Perspective on Murray Ridge
This mosaic, taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the planned route (in yellow) of NASA's Curiosity rover from "Pah...
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This image shows the planned route (in yellow) of NASA's Curiosity rover from "Pahrump Hills" at the base of Mount Sharp, through the "Murray Formation," and south to the hematite ridge further up the flank of Mount Sharp. The rover's location is near Pahrump Hills noted with a green star on the top right of the image.
Curiosity Rover Planned Route
A rock outcrop dubbed "Missoula," near Marias Pass on Mars, is seen in this image mosaic taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA's Curiosity rover.
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A rock outcrop dubbed "Missoula," near Marias Pass on Mars, is seen in this image mosaic taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA's Curiosity rover.
Contact Zone: 'Missoula'
This graphic depicts paths by which carbon has been exchanged among Martian interior, surface rocks, polar caps, waters and atmosphere, and also depicts a mechanism by which it is lost from the atm...
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This graphic depicts paths by which carbon has been exchanged among Martian interior, surface rocks, polar caps, waters and atmosphere, and also depicts a mechanism by which it is lost from the atmosphere with a strong effect on isotope ratio.
Carbon Exchange and Loss Processes on Mars
The long journey to Mars through the harsh environment of space confronts the Curiosity navigation team with a long list of challenges to get the spacecraft safely to its destination.
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Challenges of Getting to Mars: The Cruise to Mars
Challenges of Getting to Mars: The Cruise to Mars
An engineer says goodbye to the Curiosity rover and its powered descent vehicle in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spacecraft Assembly Facility shortly before the spacecraft was readied for shipmen...
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An engineer says goodbye to the Curiosity rover and its powered descent vehicle in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spacecraft Assembly Facility shortly before the spacecraft was readied for shipment to Kennedy Space Center for launch.
Fish-eye view of NASA's Curiosity rover and its Powered Descent Vehicle

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