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NASA to Launch Mars Rover in 2020

NASA's Mars 2020 Project will re-use the basic engineering of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity to send a different rover to Mars, with new objectives and instruments. This view depicts the top of the 2020 rover's mast.

July 14, 2016

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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This 2016 image comes from computer-assisted-design work on NASA's 2020 Mars rover. The design leverages many successful features of NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, but it add...
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This 2016 image comes from computer-assisted-design work on NASA's 2020 Mars rover. The design leverages many successful features of NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, but it adds new science instruments and a sampling system to carry out the new goals for the 2020 mission
Computer-Design Drawing for NASA's 2020 Mars Rover
In this image, taken July 19, 2019, in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL, the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm maneuvers its 88-pound (40-kilogram) sensor-laden turr...
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Photo taken in the clean room with the rover's 7-foot-long arm and its 88-pound sensor-laden turret as it moves from a deployed to a stowed configuration.
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Robotic Arm Is on the Move
Antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network provide two-way communications with spacecraft exploring the planets.
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The large antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network provide two-way communications with spacecraft at Mars and other bodies in the solar system.
Deep Space Network antennas at Goldstone's "Apollo Valley"
A 3-D printed model of Mastcam-Z, one of the science cameras on the Mars 2020 rover. Mastcam-Z will include a 3:1 zoom lens.
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A 3-D printed model of Mastcam-Z, one of the science cameras on the Mars 2020 rover. Mastcam-Z will include a 3:1 zoom lens.
Mastcam-Z model
Observations at large scales, such as panoramas of Martian landscapes, help researchers identify smaller-scale features of special interest for examination in more detail.
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Observations at large scales, such as panoramas of Martian landscapes, help researchers identify smaller-scale features of special interest for examination in more detail.
The Importance of Nested Scales of Observations, Large Scales
This is the first Mars flight hardware that has been designed, assembled & tested at NASA-Johnson Space Center, led by Jacobs/JETS Chief Scientist Trevor Graff.
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Image of engineers with the Mars 2020 SHERLOC Calibration Target in a clean room at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
SHERLOC Calibration Target in the Clean Room
In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers prepare the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — for integration onto NASA's Mars 2020 rover.
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In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers prepare the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — for integration onto NASA's Mars 2020 rover.
This Is What a Pit Stop Looks Like at JPL
In this image, taken on Aug. 5, 2019, engineers at NASA's JPL  lift the Mars 2020 rover's bit carousel from its storage container. The bit carousel is at the heart of the rover's Sample Caching Sys...
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In this image, taken on Aug. 5, 2019, engineers at NASA's JPL lift the Mars 2020 rover's bit carousel from its storage container. The bit carousel is at the heart of the rover's Sample Caching System.
A Little Bit Carousel Higher
Engineers at JPL install a sensor-filled turret on the end of the rover's seven-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) robotic arm. The image was taken on July 11, 2019.
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Engineers at JPL install a sensor-filled turret on the end of the rover's seven-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) robotic arm. The image was taken on July 11, 2019.
Attaching Mars 2020's Turret
Engineer Chris Chatellier stands next to a target board with 1,600 dots. The board was one of several used on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsio...
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Engineer Chris Chatellier stands next to a target board with 1,600 dots. The board was one of several used on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to calibrate the forward-facing cameras on the Mars 2020 rover.
An Eye Chart for Mars 2020
Technicians working Mars 2020’s System’s Test 1 approach their workstation in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
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Technicians working Mars 2020’s System’s Test 1 approach their workstation in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Mars 2020 System Test 1
In this image, the second stage of the Black Brant IX sounding rocket separates from the ASPIRE payload. The third and final flight test of the ASPIRE payload was launched from NASA's Wallops Fligh...
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In this image, the second stage of the Black Brant IX sounding rocket separates from the ASPIRE payload. The third and final flight test of the ASPIRE payload was launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Sept. 7, 2018.
ASPIRE Separates from Booster
What does NASA do to get a rover ready for Mars? JPL’s paint shop does a thousand different paint jobs a year. And while every piece of spacecraft that comes through the shop is important, one head...
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JPL’s paint shop does a thousand different paint jobs a year. And while every piece of spacecraft that comes through the shop is important, one headed for the Red Planet adds a little extra oomph.
Painting Cars for Mars
A prototype of the Lander Vision System for NASA's Mars 2020 mission was tested in this Dec. 9, 2014, flight of a Masten Space Systems "Xombie" vehicle at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
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A prototype of the Lander Vision System for NASA's Mars 2020 mission was tested in this Dec. 9, 2014, flight of a Masten Space Systems "Xombie" vehicle at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
Test of Lander Vision System for Mars 2020
Mission Timeline
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Mission Timeline
Mission Timeline
In this time-lapse video, taken July 19, 2019, in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL, the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm maneuvers its 88-pound (40-kilogram) sensor...
More
In this time-lapse video, taken July 19, 2019, in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL, the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) arm maneuvers its 88-pound (40-kilogram) sensor-laden turret as it moves from a deployed to a stowed configuration.
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Robotic Arm Is on the Move (Time-lapse)
This artist's rendition depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying rocks with its robotic arm.  
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NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Artist's Concept #3
NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Artist's Concept #3
In this image, engineers test cameras on the top of the Mars 2020 rover’s mast and front chassis. The image was taken on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Je...
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In this image, engineers test cameras on the top of the Mars 2020 rover’s mast and front chassis. The image was taken on July 23, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Testing Mars 2020's 20/20 Vision
This cartoon depicts NASA's next Mars rover, which launches in 2020.
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This cartoon depicts NASA's next Mars rover, which launches in 2020.
NASA's Next Mars Rover (Cartoon)
Sample radargram of a glacier in Svalbard obtained with the HUBRA radar instrument, a precursor of RIMFAX built by the FFI team.
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Fig. 2 - Sample radargram of a glacier in Svalbard obtained with the HUBRA radar instrument, a precursor of RIMFAX built by the FFI team.
RIMFAX Sample Radargram
The left view is a sample view of a pile of rocks taken in the "Mars Yard" testing area at JPL. The right picture illustrates one way the camera data can be used to reveal the contours of a target ...
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The left view is a sample view of a pile of rocks taken in the "Mars Yard" testing area at JPL. The right picture illustrates one way the camera data can be used to reveal the contours of a target from a distance.
Testing Mars 2020's Engineering Cameras
These two images illustrate the value of being able to identify different compositions at very small scales.
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These two images illustrate the value of being able to identify different compositions at very small scales.
The Importance of Nested Scales of Observations, Fine Scales
NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet...
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NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet depicts the scope of NASA's activity and how our missions have traveled throughout the solar system.
SMD Spacecraft Fleet
In time-lapse video bunny-suited engineers remove the inner layer of protective foil on NASA's Mars 2020 rover after it was moved to a different building at JPL for testing.
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In time-lapse video bunny-suited engineers remove the inner layer of protective foil on NASA's Mars 2020 rover after it was moved to a different building at JPL for testing.
Mars 2020 Unwrapped and Ready for Testing
This artist concept shows the location of the RIMFAX instrument on the next rover scheduled to launch for Mars.
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This artist concept shows the location of the RIMFAX instrument on the next rover scheduled to launch for Mars.
Artist Concept for RIMFAX

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