Sandy Dunes

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.

This is a picture of some of the women working on the Curiosity rover posing with Curiosity's mobility double, "Scarecrow," used to test drive under different soil conditions in the JPL "Mars Yard."

This side-by-side comparison shows the X-ray diffraction patterns of two different samples collected from rocks on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover.

This false-color map shows the area within Gale Crater on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT) and the location where Curiosity collected its first drill...

In an activity called the "mini drill test," NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its drill to generate this ring of powdered rock for inspection in advance of the rover's first full drilling.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera (Navcam) to capture this view on April 11, 2015, during the 952nd Martian day, or sol of the rover's work on Mars. The image appears three-dim...

Curiosity location for Sol 313

This focus-merge image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a rock called "Burwash." The rock has a coating of dust on it. The coarser, visible gra...

This video, taken by one of the Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, shows the rover's robotic arm as it rotates to take a selfie. A camera at the end of the arm captured...

Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011 launch.

The Curiosity rover mission to Mars is one of NASA's most complex and incredible successes. This 45-second trailer from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory takes you from designing and testing the rover ...

The stick-shaped features on this Martian rock are about the size of grains of rice. This view from the MAHLI camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area about 2 inches across, on a target...

There are no gas stations or power outlets in space. That's why NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars--and some other NASA spacecraft that explore the solar system--use something called "radioisotope powe...

This image of a Martian rock illuminated by white-light LEDs (light emitting diodes) is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the...

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.

Standing atop a payload transporter, the Atlas V rocket payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft rolls out of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy S...

NASA has selected Gale crater as the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

Excitement builds at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory when news of a successful parachute deployment from the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft reaches the science team.

This stereo view from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a 360-degree panorama around the location where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol, on Mars. T...

On Sol 32 (Sept. 7, 2012) the Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) located on its arm to obtain this self-portrait.

The left-front wheel of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows dents and holes in this image taken during the 469th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Nov. 30, 2013).

This movie clip shows Phobos, the larger of the two moons of Mars, passing overhead, as observed by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity in a series of images centered straight overhead starting shortly aft...

Students will use satellite and rover images to learn about the various features and materials that cause color variation on the surface of Mars.

This view from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows dramatic buttes and layers on the lower flank of Mount Sharp. It was taken on Sept. 7, 2013, from near the waypoint called "Darwin" o...

This wide-angle view shows the High Bay 1 cleanroom inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Specialists are working on components of the Mars S...