PIA13235: Mars rover Curiosity with Newly Installed Wheels


Mars rover Curiosity with Newly Installed Wheels

Caption:

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.

Spacecraft engineers and technicians are assembling and testing the rover in a large clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Curiosity's six-wheel mobility system, with a rocker-bogie suspension system, resembles the systems on earlier, smaller Mars rovers, but for Curiosity, the wheels will also serve as landing gear. Each wheel is half a meter (20 inches) in diameter.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Instrument Host Curiosity Rover
Host Type Rover
Instrument
Detector
Extra Keywords Color
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2010-07-05
Date in Caption 2010-06-29
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13235
Identifier PIA13235