What's New

NASA and the mobile application Foursquare have teamed up to help the public unlock its scientific curiosity with a new rover-themed Curiosity Explorer badge.
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The NASA Mars rover Curiosity this week is driving within a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay," providing information to help researchers choose a rock to drill.
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A self-portrait of the NASA Mars Rover Curiosity stitches together dozens of images by the camera at the end of the rover's arm.
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The NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove 63 feet (19 meters) northeastward early Monday, Dec. 10, approaching a step down into a slightly lower area called "Yellowknife Bay," where researchers intend to choose a rock to drill.
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Pictures from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show scars on the surface of the Red Planet where discarded pieces of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft hit the ground.
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Building on the success of Curiosity's Red Planet landing, NASA has announced plans for a robust multi-year Mars program, including a new robotic science rover set to launch in 2020.
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NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has used its full array of instruments to analyze Martian soil for the first time, and found a complex chemistry within the Martian soil.
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The next news conference about the NASA Mars rover Curiosity will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in San Francisco at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
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A regional dust storm on Mars, tracked from orbit since Nov. 10, appears to be abating rather than going global.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Mission launched a year ago today, putting the rover Curiosity on its way to Gale Crater, where it has been working for 16 weeks.
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A Martian dust storm that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been tracking since last week has also produced atmospheric changes detectable by rovers on Mars.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity completed a touch-and-go inspection of one rock on Sunday, Nov. 18, then pivoted and, on the same day, drove toward a Thanksgiving overlook location.
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Observations of wind patterns and natural radiation patterns on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover are helping scientists better understand the environment on the Red Planet's surface.
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A pinch of fine sand and dust became the first solid Martian sample deposited into the biggest instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity: the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM.
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After three months working on "Mars time," the team operating NASA Mars rover Curiosity has switched to more regular hours, as planned.
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NASA's car-sized rover, Curiosity, has taken significant steps toward understanding how Mars may have lost much of its original atmosphere.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Friday, Nov. 2, to provide an update on Curiosity's studies of the Martian atmosphere
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has completed initial experiments showing the mineralogy of Martian soil is similar to weathered basaltic soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii.
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NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity on Sol 82 (Oct. 29, 2012) used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to photograph the diverse rocks in the "Rocknest" area and prepared for an overnight analysis of a soil sample by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, Oct. 30, to provide an update about the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 78th sol (Oct. 24, 2012) to view soil material on the rover's observation tray.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shook a scoopful of dusty sand inside its sample-handling mechanism on Sol 75 (Oct. 21, 2012) as the third scrubbing of interior surfaces of the mechanism.
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On Saturday, October 20, Mars Exploration Program Director Doug McCuistion participated on a virtual "Google+ Hangout" live link to celebrate NASA's Mars activities with Glenelg, Scotland residents.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has ingested its first solid sample into an analytical instrument inside the rover, a capability at the core of the two-year mission.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Oct. 18, about the latest status of the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars.
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Commands will be sent to Curiosity today instructing the rover to collect a third scoop of soil from the "Rocknest" site of windblown Martian sand and dust.
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On Sol 65 (Oct. 11, 2012) of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity completed several activities in preparation for collecting its second scoop of soil.
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The first Martian rock NASA's Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions.
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The team operating Curiosity decided on Oct. 9, 2012, to proceed with using the rover's first scoop of Martian material.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Oct. 11, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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Curiosity's main activity in the 62nd sol of the mission (Oct. 8, 2012) was to image a small, bright object on the ground using the Remote Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument.
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Curiosity's first scooping activity appeared to go well on Oct. 7.
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On the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012),NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its soil scoop for the first time, collecting a scoopful of sand and powdery material at the "Rocknest" site.
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On Sol 58 (Oct. 4, 2012) Curiosity maneuvered its arm to use instruments for close-up examination of sandy material at the "Rocknest" site.
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NASA's Curiosity rover is in a position on Mars where scientists and engineers can begin preparing the rover to take its first scoop of soil for analysis.
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On Sol 56 (Oct. 2, 2012), Curiosity drove about 20 feet (6 meters) westward to reach a ripple of sand and dust deposited by the wind at a soil patch called "Rocknest."
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover checked in on Mars Wednesday using the mobile application Foursquare.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Oct. 4, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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On Sol 55 (Oct. 1, 2012), Curiosity finished observations at the "Bathurst Inlet" rock target it had examined with instruments on the arm.
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On Sol 54 (Sept. 30, 2012), Curiosity used two tools at the end of its arm to inspect two targets on an angular rock called "Bathurst Inlet."
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On Sol 52 (Sept. 28), Curiosity drove about 122 feet (37.3 meters) eastward toward the Glenelg area, using visual odometry to assess and adjust for any wheel slippage.
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NASA's Curiosity rover mission has found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving.
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On Sol 50 (Sept. 26), Curiosity completed its longest drive yet, rolling about 160 feet (48.9 meters) eastward toward the Glenelg area.
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NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) Thursday, Sept. 27, to present science findings from the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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The rover science team's current focus is on getting Curiosity to the Glenelg area, and the drive took the rover eastward toward that destination.
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NASA's rover Curiosity touched a Martian rock with its robotic arm for the first time on Sept. 22, assessing what chemical elements are in the rock called "Jake Matijevic."
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In a day of abbreviated activities due to timing of downlink relays, Curiosity used cameras on Sol 44 (Sept. 20) to observe early-morning atmospheric conditions, inspect a nearby rock, and image rover hardware.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has driven up to a football-size rock that will be the first for the rover's arm to examine.
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A series of daily drives has taken NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity to a vantage point about halfway to a science destination area called Glenelg.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 19), to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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On Sol 42 (Sept. 17, 2012), Curiosity drove about 105 feet (32 meters), toward the east-southeast, bringing the mission's total driving distance to about 850 feet (259 meters).
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Sol 39 through 41 (Sept. 14 - 17) were driving days for the Curiosity rover. On Sol 39, Curiosity logged 72 feet (22 meters) driven.
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Sol 38 (Sept. 13, 2012) was destined to be a driving day for NASA's latest addition to the Martian landscape.
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Sol 37 (Sept. 12, 2012) was Curiosity's last day of characterization activities for its robotic arm.
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NASA's Mars Curiosity team has almost finished robotic arm tests in preparation for the rover to touch and examine its first Martian rock.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 12), to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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On Sol 35 of its mission on Mars (Sept. 10, 2012) Curiosity continued activities for characterizing its arm and the tools on the arm.
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The camera at the end of the robotic arm on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity spent a busy weekend taking photos from several arm positions.
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Curiosity skipped arm testing on Sol 31 (Sept. 6) after controllers held back on new commanding due to a caution about a temperature reading on the arm.
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After driving more than a football field's length since landing, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is spending several days preparing for full use of the tools on its arm.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, Sept. 6, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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Curiosity completed a drive of 100 feet (30.5 meters) during the mission's Sol 29, on Sept. 4, 2012, traveling southeastward with a dogleg move partway through the drive to skirt some sand.
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Curiosity continued to work in good health during the Labor Day weekend.
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Curiosity took a sol off from driving and spent time during the mission's Sol 25, on Aug. 31, 2012, taking images and collecting environmental monitoring data.
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Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on Thursday, continuing its trek eastward toward a science destination called Glenelg, where it may begin using its drill.
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Morse Code Release
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has set off from its landing vicinity on a trek to a science destination about a quarter mile (400 meters) away, where it may begin using its drill.
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For the first time in history, a recorded song has been beamed back to Earth from another planet.
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NASA's Mars Curiosity has debuted the first recorded human voice that traveled from Earth to another planet and back.
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The following statement by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was returned to Earth via the Mars Curiosity rover.
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NASA will hold a televised news conference at 2 p.m. PDT (5 p.m.EDT), Monday, Aug. 27, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., about the activities of its Curiosity rover mission on Mars.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has begun driving from its landing site, which scientists announced today they have named for the late author Ray Bradbury.
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NASA will hold a televised news conference at 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to update media on the progress of its Curiosity rover mission on Mars.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has been investigating the Martian weather around it and the soil beneath it, as its controllers prepare for the car-size vehicle's first drive on Mars.
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The entry, descent and landing of NASA's new Mars rover was full of unknowns - including when was the right time to declare Curiosity safe and sound on the surface.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity flexed its robotic arm today for the first time since before launch in November 2011.
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Today, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called "Coronation."
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NASA will host several media teleconferences and/or news conferences to provide Curiosity rover mission updates in the coming weeks.
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The scientists and engineers of NASA's Curiosity rover mission have selected the first driving destination for their one-ton, six-wheeled mobile Mars laboratory.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT), Friday, Aug. 17, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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The first color image taken from orbit showing NASA's rover Curiosity on Mars includes details of the layered bedrock on the floor of Gale Crater that the rover is beginning to investigate.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, Aug. 14, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
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President Barack Obama will congratulate members of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover team at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., at 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT) this morning.
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NASA's Curiosity rover has returned high-resolution color images of its surroundings on Mars that reveal a landscape not unlike portions of the southwestern United States.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's surface operations.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity will spend its first weekend on Mars transitioning to software better suited for tasks ahead, such as driving and using its strong robotic arm.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's surface operations.
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The following data were compiled by Curiosity's Entry, Descent and Landing team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. It provides a timeline of critical mission events that occurred on the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (early on Aug. 6 EDT).
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The first images from Curiosity's color Mast Camera, or Mastcam, have been received by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
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Remarkable image sets from NASA's Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are continuing to develop the story of Curiosity's landing and first days on Mars.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's surface operations.
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Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations
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Late Monday night, an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the Curiosity rover and the components that helped it survive its seven-minute ordeal from space to its present location in Mars’ Gale Crater.
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Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Earlier today, just hours after NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, a select group of images taken by the onboard Mars Descent Imager, or MARDI, were beamed back to Earth.
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An image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter captured the Curiosity rover still connected to its 51-foot-wide (almost 16 meter) parachute as it descended towards its landing site at Gale Crater.
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About two hours after landing on Mars and beaming back its first image, NASA's Curiosity rover transmitted a higher-resolution image of its new Martian home, Gale Crater.
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NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory carrying the Curiosity rover has separated from the cruise stage that carried it from Earth to the Red Planet.
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Its approximately 352 million mile (567 million kilometer), 36-week journey from Earth nearly complete, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft and its Curiosity rover are "all systems go" for touchdown in Mars' Gale Crater tonight at 10:31 p.m. PDT (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6).
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is healthy and right on course for a landing in several hours that will be one of the most difficult feats of robotic exploration ever attempted.
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On the evening of Sunday, Aug. 5, the focal point of Martian activity here on Earth will be located in the Mission Support Area in Building 230 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. From this facility will come news of the progress of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover's landing. Visit an interactive page at http://bit.ly/mslmsa to explore the room a bit further and get a who's who of team members - as well as the history of one dry-roasted room essential.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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The gravitational tug of Mars is now pulling NASA's car-size geochemistry laboratory, Curiosity, in for a suspenseful landing in less than 40 hours.
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With less than three days to go before touchdown on the Red Planet, Curiosity remains in good health, with all systems operating as expected.
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Unlike a group of tourists just arriving on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover will take a more careful approach to snapping its first images.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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NASA's newest Mars mission, landing in three days, will draw on support from missions sent to Mars years ago and will contribute to missions envisioned for future decades.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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The public is invited to tune in for a series of news briefings from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., for the upcoming landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Every time NASA lands a rover on Mars--or even makes the attempt--it is cause for celebration. On August 5th, the heavens themselves are aligning to mark the event.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Eight days before reaching Mars, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft performed a flight-path adjustment scheduled more than nine months ago.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has successfully adjusted its orbital location to be in a better position to provide prompt confirmation of the August landing of the Curiosity rover.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Preparations continue for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations.
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Engineers at NASA's Deep Space Network continue to run differential ranging track passes to track Mars Science Laboratory's trajectory.
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Today, engineers at NASA's Deep Space Network are running two differential ranging track passes to track Mars Science Laboratory's trajectory.
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As of yesterday evening, the week-long reboot and configuration activities on Curiosity's two redundant main computers, or Rover Compute Elements.
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With updated flight sequences and communications parameters for entry, descent and landing and surface operations now uploaded to one of Curiosity's two redundant main computers.
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Activities continue to prepare Curiosity's redundant main computers, or Rover Compute Elements, for arrival at Mars.
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Activities continue through July 20 to prepare Curiosity’s redundant main computers, or Rover Compute Elements, for arrival at Mars.
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Beginning today, Curiosity's redundant main computers, or Rover Compute Elements, will be power-cycled while in the online, or backup mode.
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A "virtual rover experience" and a body-action video game are among the options for public participation in NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.
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NASA's most advanced planetary rover is on a precise course for an early August landing beside a Martian mountain to begin two years of unprecedented scientific detective work.
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The Radiation Assessment Detector instrument on Curiosity has finished the measurements it had been making during its flight from Earth to Mars.
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Today, the Mars Science Laboratory flight team is conducting a final operations readiness test of entry, descent and landing procedures in preparation for Curiosity's landing on Aug. 5, PDT.
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A NASA-created application that brings some of the agency's robotic spacecraft to life in 3-D now is available for free on the iPhone and iPad.
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The Mars Science Laboratory Spacecraft completed an attitude control turn today, adjusting its orientation for keeping its medium-gain antenna pointed toward Earth for communications.
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NASA will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) Monday, July 16, to discuss the upcoming August landing of the most advanced robot ever sent to another world.
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Seventy-six pyrotechnic devices must fire on time during the descent of Mars Science Laboratory to the Martian surface on August 5.
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A maneuver on Tuesday adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain.
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NASA has narrowed the target for its most advanced Mars rover, Curiosity, which will land on the Red Planet in August.
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NASA will host a media teleconference at 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT) on June 11, to provide a status update on the Aug. 5, 2012, landing of the most advanced rover ever to be sent to Mars.
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NASA will host a 3-day NASA Social for 25 of its social media followers Aug. 3-5 at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The NASA Social is scheduled to culminate in the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover at Mars' Gale crater. The landing is anticipated at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6).
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Engineers ran rover-mobility tests on California sand dunes this week in preparation for operating NASA's Curiosity rover after it lands in Mars' Gale Crater.
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What's it like inside Curiosity's cruise vehicle? Well, it's a bit dark but the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the rover arm has a built-in LED light or flashlight, used to light up the dark space inside the cruise vehicle and aeroshell to take this full-color test image.
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A group of journalists take part in a field trip to learn about clues hidden in the rock layers with Curiosity Project Scientist, John Grotzinger.
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At 10:31 p.m. PDT today, April 27, (1:31 p.m. EDT), NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, carrying the one-ton Curiosity rover, will be within 100 days from its appointment with the Martian surface.
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A stack of geological chapters in the history book of Mars has attracted NASA's big new rover and takes an informal name from a geologist with early Mars missions.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, halfway to Mars, adjusted its flight path today for delivery of the one-ton rover Curiosity to the surface of Mars in August.
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With a pair of bug-eyes swiveling on a stalk nearly 8 feet off the ground, the 6-wheeled, 1800-lb Mars rover Curiosity doesn't look much like a human being. Yet, right now, the mini-Cooper-sized rover is playing the role of stunt double for NASA astronauts.
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Engineers have found the root cause of a computer reset that occurred two months ago on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory and have determined how to correct it.
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At least one object in photos NASA's Curiosity rover will transmit from Mars later this year will look familiar to all Americans: a Lincoln penny sent as a camera reference.
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This week's solar storm is giving a NASA Mars-bound spacecraft a chance to gauge how such events would affect radiation exposure of future astronauts flying to Mars.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft successfully refined its flight path Wednesday with the biggest maneuver planned for the mission's journey between Earth and Mars.
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An engine firing on Jan. 11 will be the biggest maneuver that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will perform on its flight between Earth and Mars.
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