NASA’s Curiosity rover – Astronomy Now

A picture postcard from Mars, courtesy of the Curiosity rover

16 June 2023 Astronomy Now

Applying a bit of artistic license, colour was added to black-and-white Mars panoramas to produce an artistic rendering of the red planet as seen in the morning and afternoon on the slopes of Mount Sharp.

Ingenuity drone released from Perseverance Mars rover in preparation for test flight

2 April 2021 Astronomy Now

The Ingenuity Mars drone has been released from the belly of the Perseverance rover and is now standing alone on the surface in preparation for a long-awaited “Wright brothers moment” in the red planet’s ultra-thin atmosphere.

Three spacecraft home in on Mars to open new era of exploration

8 February 2021 Astronomy Now

Three’s a crowd: UAE’s Hope orbiter, China’s Tianwen 1 and NASA’s Perseverance rover reach Mars

Perseverance landing another “7 minutes of terror” for NASA

28 December 2020 Astronomy Now

Following in Curiosity’s footsteps, NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt a daring high-speed descent to the surface of Mars on 21 February, depicted in an animation showing what flight controllers refer to as “seven minutes of terror.”

Mars rover data indicates ancient megafloods across Gale Crater

24 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Stratigraphy in Gale Crater on Mars indicates the effects of megafloods in the distant past, most likely caused by the heat released in a major impact.

Curiosity kicks off summer road trip up Mount Sharp

6 July 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has started a summer road trip, skirting dangerous sand as it heads for its next target.

Curiosity Mars rover spots Earth and Venus in bright twilight sky

15 June 2020 Astronomy Now

The Curiosity Mars rover looks up from the martian surface to capture images of Earth and Venus in a bright twilight sky, showing humanity’s home as a tiny speck of light.

Perseverance Mars rover making steady progress toward July launch

11 May 2020 Astronomy Now

Despite coronavirus work restrictions, engineers at the Kennedy Space Center are on track readying the Perseverance Mars rover for launch in July

Curiosity climbs its steepest slope so far

23 March 2020 Keith Cooper

The intrepid Curiosity rover has scaled its greatest challenge so far, a steep slope inclined at 31 degrees to the horizontal, leading to a cliff-top region known as Greenheugh Pediment.

Curiosity snaps a selfie at Mount Sharp drill site

24 October 2019 Astronomy Now

The Curiosity Mars rover snaps a 57-image composite selfie while exploring the Glen Etive region of Mount Sharp where it drilled and collected two samples for chemical analysis.