Photos: Curiosity Rover, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory

NASA's Next Mars Rover, Curiosity, Is an Internet Star

NASA's Curiosity Cam allows the public to watch technicians assemble and test NASA's next Mars rover in a clean room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Inside a 'Clean Room': NASA Puts Mars Rover Together

The bodies of the flight model (left) and engineering model (right) of Curiosity. The flight model will be the rover launched into space, with the engineering model serving as a back-up.

Earth Microbes Not Likely to Contaminate Mars, Scientists Say

This image shows the Mars rover Curiosity being assembled in one of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's 'clean rooms.' The team members are all dressed in special head-to-toe white suits.

Mars Science Laboratory: Big Wheels on A Red Planet

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will be much larger than NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in early 2004. Image

Future Mars Rover Gets New Set of Wheels

Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011 launch. This image taken June 29, 2010, shows the rover with the mobility system — wheels and suspension — in place after installation on June 28 and 29.

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NASA's Viking landers carried four instruments designed to search for signs of Martian life: a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, as well as experiments for gas exchange, labeled release and pyrolytic release. Credit: NASA

Making Mars a Familiar Place: Q and A With Mars Rover Manager John Callas

John Callas, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is manager of the Mars Exploration Rover project. MER involves the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which have been chugging around the Red Planet since 2004.

James Cameron Wants to Film Mars in 3-D

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, and award-winning writer-director James Cameron, meet at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19, 2010.

Testing the Mars Science Laboratory Rover, Curiosity

Testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. Evaluations during March included use of a space-simulation chamber designed to put the rover through operational sequences in environmental conditions similar to what it will experience on the surface of Mars.

Landing Sites Debated for Next Mars Rover

NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory plans to launch in 2009. The rover is to be powered by nuclear generator (not shown) and will have extensive mobility across the red planet. Image