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  • Published
    24 Images

    Mars Rover Curiosity: The Red Planet's Next Explorer

    After traveling 8 and a half months and 352 million miles, NASA's most technically advanced rover ever lands on the Red Planet early overnight Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.

  • mars13 Curiosity at Work on Mars
    This artist's concept depicts the rover Curiosity, of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, as it uses its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the composition of a rock surface. ChemCam fires laser pulses at a target and views the resulting spark with a telescope and spectrometers to identify chemical elements. The laser is actually in an invisible infrared wavelength, but is shown here as visible red light for purposes of illustration.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Mars_Science_Lab_landing_site_gale_crater
    Having landed on the red planet late Sunday night, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover find itself on the surface of the Red Planet and ready to explore Gale Crater, seen here.
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    NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/USGS
  • mars_rover1
    In this July 25, 2012 photo, Rob Manning, chief engineer, speaks to media at NASA Mars Yard at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena Wednesday, July 25, 2012. Beside Manning is a model of the Mars rover, Curiosity.
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  • mars_rover2
    A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover lifts off from Launch Complex 41at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. , Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
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  • Curisoity_Final_tests
    The NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, seen during final mobility testing on June 3 inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Mars_Lab_Logo
    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission logo takes shape as technicians install it on the exterior of an Atlas V rocket's payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Tucked inside the fairing is the compact car-sized rover, Curiosity.
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    NASA/Jim Grossmann
  • Payload_Fairing_Mars_Lab
    The Atlas V rocket's payload fairing containing the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft stands securely atop the transporter that carried it to Space Launch Complex 41.
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    NASA/Kim Shiflett
  • mars01 Curiosity Launch Vehicle
    An Atlas V541 launch vehicle -- selected for the Mars Science Laboratory mission because it has the right liftoff capability for the heavy weight requirements of the rover and its spacecraft -- will carry NASA's Curiosity rover on its way to Mars.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars02 Spacecraft During Cruise
    NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its cruise phase between launch and final approach to Mars. The spacecraft includes a disc-shaped cruise stage (on the left) attached to the aeroshell. The spacecraft's rover (Curiosity) and descent stage are tucked inside the aeroshell.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars03 Curiosity Approaching Mars
    This is an artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft approaching Mars.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars05 Guided Entry
    As it approaches the Martian atmosphere, thrusters will fire to slow the craft on its way to the planet's surface.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars06 Deceleration
    This artist's concept depicts the interaction of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft with the upper atmosphere of Mars during the entry, descent and landing of the Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars07 Parachute
    A parachute systems will then deploy to further slow the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars08 on Parachute
    This is an artist's concept of NASA's Curiosity rover tucked inside the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's backshell while the spacecraft is descending on a parachute toward Mars. The parachute is attached to the top of the backshell. In the scene depicted here, the spacecraft's heat shield has already been jettisoned.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars09 Descent Stage
    An artist's concept of the rover and descent stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during the final minute before the rover, Curiosity, touches down on the surface of Mars.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars10 Sky Crane Maneuver
    This rover itself will then be lowered by sky crane to the Martian surface.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars12 A Moment After Touchdown
    This artist's concept depicts the moment immediately after NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars14 Close-up
    The mobile Curiosity robot will then be ready to scan for Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. 
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars15 Tall
    The rover's head or mast rises to about 7 feet above ground level, about as tall as a basketball player. It supports two remote-sensing instruments: One for stereo color viewing of surrounding terrain and material collected by the arm and a laser that vaporizes material from rocks up to about 30 feet away to determines their composition.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars18 Size Comparison
    An artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (left) serves to compare it with Spirit, one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars19 Using Laser Instrument
    This artist's conception of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory portrays use of the rover's ChemCam instrument to identify the chemical composition of a rock sample on the surface of Mars.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars20 ramp drive test
    NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, drives up a ramp during a test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., on Sept. 10, 2010. The rover, like its smaller predecessors already on Mars, uses a rocker bogie suspension system to drive over uneven ground. Technicians and engineers in clean room garb watch the test drive carefully inside JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars21 cruise stage in test chamber
    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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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • mars22 wind tunnel
    The team developing the landing system for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory tested the deployment of an early parachute design in mid-October 2007 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.
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    NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Published
    24 Images

    Mars Rover Curiosity: The Red Planet's Next Explorer

    After traveling 8 and a half months and 352 million miles, NASA's most technically advanced rover ever lands on the Red Planet early overnight Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.

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  • Mars Rover Curiosity: The Red Planet's Next Explorer
  • mars13 Curiosity at Work on Mars
  • Mars_Science_Lab_landing_site_gale_crater
  • mars_rover1
  • mars_rover2
  • Curisoity_Final_tests
  • Mars_Lab_Logo
  • Payload_Fairing_Mars_Lab
  • mars01 Curiosity Launch Vehicle
  • mars02 Spacecraft During Cruise
  • mars03 Curiosity Approaching Mars
  • mars05 Guided Entry
  • mars06 Deceleration
  • mars07 Parachute
  • mars08 on Parachute
  • mars09 Descent Stage
  • mars10 Sky Crane Maneuver
  • mars12 A Moment After Touchdown
  • mars14 Close-up
  • mars15 Tall
  • mars18 Size Comparison
  • mars19 Using Laser Instrument
  • mars20 ramp drive test
  • mars21 cruise stage in test chamber
  • mars22 wind tunnel