Mars Rover Curiosity's Photos: September to November 2012

A Martian Rock Called 'Rocknest 3'

This view of a Martian rock called "Rocknest 3" combines four images taken by the right-eye camera of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument, which has a telephoto, 100-millimeter-focal-length lens. The component images were taken a few minutes after Martian noon on the 59th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's operations on Mars (evening of Oct. 5, 2012, PDT). Image released Nov. 26, 2012.

Mars Rock 'Rocknest 3' Imaged by Curiosity's ChemCam

This view of a rock called "Rocknest 3" combines two images taken by the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity and indicates five spots where ChemCam had hit the rock with laser pulses to check its composition. It covers an area 3.9 inches (10 centimeters) across. Image released Nov. 26, 2012.

Panoramic View From 'Rocknest' Position of Curiosity Mars Rover

This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012. Image released Nov. 26, 2012.

Curiosity Self Portrait

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity snapped this amazing self-portrait on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2012. The image is a mosaic of dozens of photos snapped by a powerful camera at the tip of the rover's robotic arm. Curiosity's destination Mount Sharp can be seen rising in the background.

Scoop Marks in the Sand at 'Rocknest'

This is a view of the third (left) and fourth (right) trenches made by the 1.6-inch-wide (4-centimeter-wide) scoop on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity in October 2012. The image was acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Sol 84 (Oct. 31, 2012).

Curiosity Rover Hits the Road Again

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove 83 feet eastward during the 102nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Nov. 18, 2012), and used its left navigation camera to record this view ahead at the end of the drive.

Curiosity Rover's Hi-Res Self-Portrait

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to snap a set of 55 high-resolution images on Oct. 31, 2012. Researchers stitched the pictures together to create this full-color self-portrait.

Curiosity Photos of 'Rocknest' Site

This pair of images from NASA's Curiosity rover shows part of a wind-blown deposit dubbed "Rocknest." At left is an unmodified shot, showing how the scene appears on Mars; the image at right has been white-balanced to show how it would look under Earth's lighting conditions.

The Five Most Abundant Gases in the Martian Atmosphere

This graph shows the percentage abundance of five gases in the atmosphere of Mars, as measured by the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer instrument of the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite on NASA's Mars rover in October 2012.

Curiosity's First Three Bites Into Martian Ground

Three bite marks left in the Martian ground by the scoop on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity are visible in this image taken by the rover's right Navigation Camera during the mission's 69th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 15, 2012). The third scoopful, collected on that sol, left the bite or pit farthest to the right. Each of the three bites is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide.

First Sample Placed on Curiosity's Observation Tray

The robotic arm on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity delivered a sample of Martian soil to the rover's observation tray for the first time during the mission's 70th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 16, 2012). This image taken later that same sol by the rover's left Mast Camera shows the sample on the tray. The tray is 3 inches (7.8 centimeters) in diameter.