Mars Rover Observations

Images from Mars rovers displaying panoramic views and dust devils, highlighting the unique Martian environment and exploration efforts.

This image shows finely layered rocks interspersed with sand sloping downward and inward toward the center of the panorama from either side. Here and there on the outcrop, a chunk of rock has become displaced and lies at an angle on the surface

This frame from an animation shows a dust-carrying whirlwind, called a dust devil, scooting across the ground inside Gale Crater, as observed on the local summer afternoon of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover's on Feb. 1, 2017.

Rover Panorama from Sols 75 & 76

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit looks toward the northwest and shows some of the targets examined by Spirit after the rover became embedded at this site.

Phoenix Site Panorama

After Conquering 'Husband Hill,' Spirit Moves On

This image shows finely layered rocks interspersed with sand sloping downward and inward toward the center of the panorama from either side. Here and there on the outcrop, a chunk of rock has become displaced and lies at an angle on the surface

Mosaic of Wedge, Shark, Half-Dome, Moe and Flat

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Dust Devil in Spirit's View Ahead on Sol 1854

Tracks Inside 'Endurance'

A Rover's-eye view of the Lander

The two prominent mesas in this view of Mars' 'Murray Buttes' region from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover are about 260 feet (about 80 meters) apart. Upper Mount Sharp is the salmon-hued mound dominating the horizon between the scene's two prominent mesas.

Ready to Enter 'Endurance'

Terrain and Rock Yogi

Time for a Change; Spirit's View on Sol 1843

Curiosity's View of Paraitepuy Pass. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to capture this panorama while driving toward the center of this scene, an area that forms the narrow Paraitepuy Pass, on Aug. 14, the 3,563rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The hill on the right is Bolívar ; on the left of is Deepdale. The floor of the vast Gale Crater is visible in the background in the upper right. This panorama was stitched together from 146 images after they were sent back to Earth. The color has been adjusted to match the lighting conditions as the human eye would perceive them on Earth.

Almost There!

This enhanced color Martian scene from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity shows contrasting textures and colors of 'Hinners Point,' at the northern edge of 'Marathon Valley,' and swirling reddish zones on the valley floor to the left.

'Wopmay' Rock

Looking at 'Endurance' on Sol 108 (left eye)

Sojourner Rover Near Half

Spirit 360-Degree View on Sol 409

The Rocky Road to the Crater Rim

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used the MAHLI camera at the end of its arm in April and May 2014 to take dozens of component images combined into this self-portrait where the rover drilled into a sandstone target called 'Windjana.'

Over Here, Over There

View of 'Bottomless Bay' on Rim of 'Victoria'

This view across the southeastern floor of the large Occator Crater on the dwarf planet Ceres, in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is based on images obtained during NASA's Dawn spacecraft second extended mission in 2018. The southern rim in the distance rises 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) above the floor. These images were obtained from altitudes between 22 and 31 miles (35 and 50 kilometers.) Occator Crater is 57 miles (92 kilometers) across. Bright pits and mounds in the foreground were formed by salty liquid released during the freezing of the water-rich floor, following the crater-forming impact about 20 million years ago. These features are a few miles across. This area shown here is 6 miles (about 10 kilometers) wide in the foreground and 12 miles (about 20 kilometers) in the background. This image was produced by Paul Schenk at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.

Opportunity Rocks!

A Peak of Interest

This is a version of one of the first images taken by a rear Hazard-Avoidance camera on NASA's Curiosity rover and shows part of the rim of Gale Crater, which is a feature the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Spirit's West Valley Panorama (False Color)

Airbag Bounce Marks

This scene from NASA's Opportunity rover shows 'Lunokhod 2 Crater,' which lies south of 'Solander Point' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. Lunokhod 2 Crater is approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter.

his view of the interior slope and rim of Endurance Crater comes from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity with an assist from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. Opportunity took the three frames that make up this image on the rover's 188th martian day (Aug. 4, 2004), before transmitting this and other data to Mars Express. The orbiter then relayed the data to Earth. Rover wheel tracks are visible in the foreground. http //photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06758

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover spotted this dust devil with one of its Navigation Cameras around 11 35 a.m. local Mars time on Aug. 9, 2020 (the 2,847th Martian day, or sol, of the mission). The frames in this GIF were shot over 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Taken from the Mary Anning drill site, this dust devil appears to be passing through small hills just above Curiosity's present location on Mount Sharp. The dust devil is approximately one-third to a half-mile (half-a-kilometer to a kilometer) away and estimated to be about 16 feet (5 meters) wide. The dust plume disappears past the top of the frame, so an exact height can't be known, but it's estimated to be at least 164 feet (50 meters) tall. Contrast has been modified to make frame-to-frame changes easier to see. Movie available at

This image shows a close-up of track marks from the first test drive of NASA's Curiosity rover. The rover's arm is visible in the foreground. A close inspection of the tracks reveals a unique, repeating pattern: Morse code for JPL.

Out of 'Endurance,' Heading South

Troy on Mars

AS15-89-12100 (2 Aug. 1971) --- A telephoto lens view looking across Hadley Rille, photographed during the third Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site on the nearside of the moon. The blocky outcrop at the top of the west wall of the rille is about 1.9 kilometers (1.1 statute miles) from the camera. About one-half of the debris-covered wall is visible in the photograph. On the horizon the northern end of Hill 305 is more than 16 kilometers (10 statute miles) from the camera.

Drifts of Dust or Something Else

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Navigation Camera (Navcam) to capture this view partway back down a slope it climbed toward 'Marias Pass' on lower Mount Sharp. The image was taken May 22, 2015.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie at a location nicknamed Mary Anning after a 19th century English paleontologist. Curiosity snagged three samples of drilled rock at this site on its way out of the Glen Torridon region, which scientists believe was a site where ancient conditions would have been favorable to supporting life, if it ever was present. Curiosity took the selfie using a camera called the Mars Hand Lens Imager located on the end of its robotic arm (videos explaining how Curiosity's selfies are taken can be found here). A close-up detail from within the selfie shows the three holes that a rock drill, also found on the end of Curiosity's arm, added to the surface. The three drill holes are named Mary Anning, Mary Anning 3 and Groken, the last name coming from a site of geological interest in the Scottish countryside.

Behold 'Endurance'! (right eye)

In a shallow depression called 'Yellowknife Bay,' the NASA Mars rover Curiosity drove to an edge of the feature to record this view of the ledge at the margin and a view across the 'bay' during the 130th Martian day, or sol, (Dec. 17, 2012).

High on 'West Spur' (Left Eye)

One View, Two Craters (right eye)

Behold 'Endurance'!

This video, taken by the Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, on the Mast of 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 86 individual images that were later stitched into a panorama. The Navcams are black-and-white cameras generally used to help engineers plan Curiosity's movements. Animation available at

This image from Curiosity's Mastcam shows inclined beds of sandstone interpreted as the deposits of small deltas fed by rivers flowing down from the Gale Crater rim and building out into a lake where Mount Sharp is now.

Spirit Arm Movements for Mosaic of Keystone

Patches of Martian sandstone visible in this view from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover have a knobbly texture due to nodules apparently more resistant to erosion than the host rock in which some are still embedded.

This view from the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's arm's shadow falling near a bright mineral vein informally named Homestake.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into this scene, which includes the fresh tracks.

Surface of the planet Mars

This is one of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT). The clear dust cover that protected the camera during landing has been sprung open.

Approaching 'Endurance' (right eye)

This 360-degree panorama shows the 'Marias Pass' area, at center, and part of the slope that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover climbed to get there, at right.

High Resolution Image From Viking Lander 1

This self-portrait shows the deck of NASA's Curiosity rover from the rover's Navigation camera.

At Work in the Plains of Meridiani

Martian High Arctic

Details of Layers in Victoria Crater's Cape St. Vincent

Soil Sample Site

This mosaic is a view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity of 'Yankee Clipper' crater which carries the name of the command and service module of NASA's 1969 Apollo 12 mission to the moon.

NASA's Curiosity rover drove about 52 feet eastward, the longest drive of the mission so far. The drive imprinted the wheel tracks visible in this image.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity cut a wheel scuff mark into a wind-formed ripple at the 'Rocknest' site to give researchers a better opportunity to examine the particle-size distribution of the material forming the ripple.

Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (False Color)

Six Wheels on the Soil

Flat

Gusev on the Horizon

This full-resolution image shows part of the deck of NASA's Curiosity rover taken from one of the rover's Navigation cameras looking toward the back left of the rover.

This panorama combines sets of images taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the 'Murray Buttes' area on Mars' lower Mount Sharp.

Recovering Spirit Sends a New Picture

Twin Dimples Intrigue Scientists

Poised for Discovery

This stereo scene combines frames taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the 1,869th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's mission on Mars (April 6, 2009). You will need 3-D glasses to view this image.

Spirit's View on Sol 142

On Aug. 28, 2012, during the 22nd Martian day, or sol, after landing on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover drove about 52 feet (16 meters) eastward, the longest drive of the mission so far. The drive imprinted the wheel tracks visible in this image.

First Patch of Probed Soil

The Mystery Soil

First Photograph Taken On Mars Surface

Spirit's View on Sol 124 (right eye)

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie on May 12, 2019 (the 2,405th Martian day, or sol, of the mission). To the lower-left of the rover are its two recent drill holes, at targets called Aberlady and Kilmarie. These are Curiosity's 20th and 21st drill sites. The selfie is composed of 57 individual images taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm. The images are stitched together into a panorama, and the robotic arm is digitally removed.

This scene combines three frames taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the 1,866th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's mission on Mars (April 3, 2009). It spans 120 degrees, with south at the center.

This scene from NASA's Opportunity rover shows 'Lunokhod 2 Crater,' which lies south of 'Solander Point' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. Lunokhod 2 Crater is approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter.

Operation of the surface sampler in obtaining Martian soil for NASA's Viking 2's molecular analysis experiment. Dubbed 'Bonneville Salt Flats,' the exposure of thin crust appeared unique in contrast with surrounding materials.

This image shows the calibration target for the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover.

Spirit Near Stapledon on Sol 1802

This 360-degree view, called the 'McMurdo' panorama, from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, where the rover stayed on a small hill known as 'Low Ridge' from April through October 2006.

Sojourner Rover Backing Away From Moe - Left Eye

This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the 'Marias Pass' area where a lower and older geological unit of mudstone.

Approaching 'Endurance'

This picture is an artist's concept portraying what the advanced rover would look like when examining a rock outcrop on Mars

Large-scale crossbedding in the sandstone of this ridge on a lower slope of Mars' Mount Sharp is typical of windblown sand dunes that have petrified. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam to capture this vista on Aug. 27, 2015.

in danakil ethiopia africa the volcanic depression of dallol lake and acid sulfer like in mars

This is the first image taken by the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover. It shows the shadow of the rover's now-upright mast in the center, and the arm's shadow at left. The arm itself can be seen in the foreground.

End of Sol 5 Rover Image

This image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows inclined layering known as cross-bedding in an outcrop called 'Shaler.'

Snow White Trenches

This image of 'Block Island' was taken on July 28, 2009, with the front hazard-identification camera on NASAs Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

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