Mars on Earth

Top of Mars Rover Curiosity's Remote Sensing Mast

This illustration provides a comparison for how big the moons of Mars appear to be, as seen from the surface of Mars, in relation to the size that Earth's moon appears to be when seen from the surf...

The yellow triangles on this graph indicate concentrations of the elements titanium and silicon in selected rock targets with high silica content analyzed by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (...

Engineers put the rover through spin tests to ensure smooth sailing in space.

This animation shows how NASA's Curiosity rover communicates with Earth via two of NASA's Mars orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Odyssey, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express....

In a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay," the NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove to an edge of the feature during the 130th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Dec. 17, 2012) and used its Nav...

This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (...

This detailed panorama from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a view toward two areas on lower Mount Sharp chosen for close-up inspection: "Mount Shields" and "Logan Pa...

This full-resolution color image from NASA's Curiosity Rover shows the gravel-covered surface of Mars. It was taken by the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) several minutes after Curiosity touched down o...

This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the first sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover's drill.

After three action-packed years on Mars, the Curiosity rover is ready to take on higher slopes of Mount Sharp.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to survey these wind-sharpened rocks, called ventifacts, on March 15, 2022, the 3,415th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The team h...

This map shows the path on Mars of NASA's Curiosity rover toward Glenelg, an area where three terrains of scientific interest converge.

A test operator in clean-room garb holds umbilical cables for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the rover's first drive test, on July 23, 2010.

Clara Ma poses with a model of Curiosity.

Clay minerals are composed of layers. Water and cations (positive-charged ions) can be stored between these layers.

This graphic portrays two hypotheses about how the element boron ended up in calcium sulfate veins found within mudstone layers of Mars' lower Mount Sharp.

At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians, using an overhead crane, separate the two components of the aeroshell, an element of NASA's Mars ...

What’s the latest news from Mars? A global dust storm is starting to settle, but still obscures the Martian surface; Curiosity turns six and drills a new rock sample; InSight is more than halfway t...

This stereo image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a rock outcrop called "Hottah," cited as evidence for vigorous flow of water in a long-ago Martian stream. The ...

This video (part 2 of a 4 part series) shows engineers testing a new parachute in the largest wind tunnel on Earth for the Curiosity rover, prior to its landing on Mars in August 2012.

Employees at Space Launch Complex 41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., keep watch as the payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is lifted up the side of the V...

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Preparing for a Mars Radar Test

This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 597 Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (April 11, 2014).