Curiosity's left front wheel, sol 411

Curiosity took this photo of its left front wheel on sol 411 (October 2, 2013). A hole in the wheel is visible. Holes in the wheels are not a concern for the Curiosity mission; such wear and tear is expected, especially in the thinnest areas of the wheels between the treads.

Filed under pretty pictures, pics of spacecraft in space, spacecraft, Mars, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory)

Mars Express over an ice-filled crater

Artist’s impression of Mars Express set against a 35 km-wide crater in the Vastitas Borealis region of Mars at approximately 70.5°N / 103°E. The crater contains a permanent patch of water-ice that likely sits upon a dune field – some of the dunes are exposed towards the top left in this image.

Filed under pretty pictures, Mars Express, spacecraft, Mars, art

MAVEN in the clean room

Ben Cooper was one of a few members of the media privileged to visit the MAVEN Mars orbiter in the clean room at Kennedy Space Center as it underwent its final preparations for launch to Mars.

Filed under pretty pictures, MAVEN, spacecraft

MAVEN with solar panels open in the clean room for the last time

On September 27, 2013, members of the media were given a final opportunity to view the MAVEN Mars orbiter before it was prepared for launch.

Filed under pretty pictures, MAVEN, spacecraft

Mariner-Jupiter-Saturn 1977 Spacecraft Artwork, 1975

NASA and JPL initially referred to what became the Voyagers as the Mariner-Jupiter-Saturn 1977 Project. The two Voyagers were advanced versions of the Mariner-class spacecraft that JPL had flown successfully to Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Shown here is a 1975 JPL artist's rendering of Voyager after encountering Jupiter and, after a gravity assist, approaching Saturn.

Filed under pretty pictures, Voyager 1 and 2, spacecraft, art, Saturn, Jupiter

Voyager 2 at Uranus

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India's Mars Orbiter Mission nearing completion

ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission undergoing final assembly and testing in Bengaluru.

Filed under Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), pretty pictures, mission status, spacecraft

Antares in infrared

Using a modified SLR camera, NASA photographer Bill Ingalls captured this infrared image of Antares rising from the launch pad on Sept. 18, 2013.

Filed under private spaceflight, spacecraft, International Space Station

Juno solar panel

Technicians test the deployment of one of the three massive solar arrays that will power Juno. When Juno arrives at Jupiter in 2016, it will be farther from the sun than any previous solar-powered mission. The choice of solar power for Juno necessitates very large solar arrays 2.65 meters wide by 8.9 meters long. Once in orbit, the three arrays will provide about 450 watts of electricity. The photo was taken on Sept. 13, 2010 at the Materials Test Laboratory at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.

Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Juno

Juno prepares for vibration testing

NASA's Juno spacecraft looms above the assembly floor as technicians prepare the Jupiter-bound probe for a round of testing that simulates the vibrations the spacecraft will experience during launch. Juno's dish-shaped high-gain antenna has been installed in preparation for the test, along with the spindly truss that supports adjacent low- and medium-gain antennas. A single solar array has also been installed for the test, and can be seen in stowed configuration on the far side of the spacecraft. The spacecraft is mounted on a large rotation fixture which allows it to be turned for convenient access for integration and testing of various subsystems. Here, technicians are in the process of rotating Juno into a vertical orientation as they prepare to lift the spacecraft onto a test stand. This image was taken on November 22, 2010, in the high-bay cleanroom at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.

Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, Juno

ICE swings past the Moon

NASA's ISEE-3 spacecraft streaks just 116 km above the lunar surface December 22, 1983, as it is catapulted by the Moon's gravity toward a September 11, 1985, encounter with Comet Giacobini-Zinner.

Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, comet Halley armada

Twin STEREO Spacecraft

Artist's depiction of NASA’s twin Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft.

Filed under pretty pictures, art, spacecraft, the Sun, solar observing spacecraft

Koronas-Foton

Russian solar observatory.

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Mars Express Art

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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) at Mars

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Hayabusa (MUSES-C)

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LADEE on the way to the Moon

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Voyager 1 as seen by the Very Long Baseline Array, February 21, 2013

Artist's impression of Voyager 1's position on the sky when observed by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) on February 21, 2013, at which point Voyager had exited the heliosphere. The actual image from the data (enlarged section) is 0.5 arcseconds across. The radio signal as shown is a mere 1 milliarcsecond across. Credit:

Filed under mission status, pretty pictures, spacecraft, pics of spacecraft in space, Voyager 1 and 2

MAVEN solar panel deployment test

Deployment of the two "gull-wing" solar panels on the MAVEN spacecraft at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado on March 21, 2013. Wingtip to wingtip, the spacecraft measures 11.43m in length.

Filed under pretty pictures, spacecraft, MAVEN

MAVEN in ATLO time-lapse

The MAVEN spacecraft is shown in this time-lapse video during its Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) phase. MAVEN began ATLO procedures on Sept. 11, 2012 and was shipped to Kennedy Space Center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on Aug. 2, 2013 to begin preparations for its scheduled launch on Nov. 18, 2013.

Filed under podcasts and videos, spacecraft, MAVEN