ESA's Mars Express relays Curiosity data
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Post-drive view after Curiosity drove 83 feet (25.3 m) eastward during the 102nd Martian day of the mission (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity's Eastward view after driving 6.2 feet (1.9 m) during the 100th Martian day of its mission (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Stereoscopic view taken by Curiosity after driving 6.2 feet (1.9 m) during the 100th Martian day of its mission (Imaget: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Dust storm as seen from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
Martian rock called Rocknest 3, white-balanced to show what it would look like on Earth (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)
Panoramic view from Rocknest (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)
Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 before being struck by ChemCam’s laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 after being struck by ChemCam’s laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
Rocknest 3, with areas examined by curiosity marked by circles (Image: NASA/JPL–Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)
Rocknest 3 indicating five spots where it was hit with the laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
Article Summary
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover got a bit of help from the European Space Agency (ESA) in October. Beaming data back to Earth from the surface of the Red Planet is often tricky, and Curiosity regularly uses satellites to act as relays when a proper line of sight isn't available. On October 6, the ESA probe Mars Express took up the slack by relaying data and images for the rover as part of an ESA-NASA support agreement.
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