Mars Curiosity Rover (MSL) in Google Earth
MSL on Google Earth near Hidden & Amargosa Valleys (on Mars)
The Mars Curiosity Rover has been busy at work for just over 2 years now. And as the “Sol”s roll by, one could be forgiven for asking: what has the thing learned so far? What has it been up to?
In order to help everyone (myself included) keep track of:
- pertinent news stores
- impressive imagery data
- MSL’s (Curiosity’s) path as it explored about Gale Crater on Mars, and
- up-to-date info on the challenges faced by the mission planners at NASA,
I’ve created a Google Earth KMZ file, updated here as frequently as I can to make sure all the info is in one place.
If you’d like to take a look at what progress Curiosity is making using Google Earth as a news platform, just visit this page to get the latest KMZ file download. (Tablet & SmartPhone Users: For information on how to use the Google Earth smartphone app to view the data presented here, read the blog article linked here and follow the instructions.)
Feel free to post feedback, comments & suggestions to this page and — I’ll see what I can do!
KMZ File downloads:
Get the latest data here:
(…reflecting past data & old projections on rover position and activity)
- Sol 733 (20140829.2056EDT)
- Sol 734 (20140830.0444EDT)
- Sol 735 (20140901.1533EDT)
- Sol 738 (20140903.1743EDT)
- Sol 739 (20140904.1421EDT)
- Sol 740 (20140906.0341EDT)
- Sol 741 (20140907.2103EDT)
- Sol 743 (20140908.1711EDT)
- Sol 744 (20140910.2339EDT)
- Sol 745 (20140912.1059EDT)
- Sol 748 (20140914.1316EDT)
- Sol 752a (20140918.2017EDT)
- Sol 752b (20149019.1350EDT
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Instructions on configuration of a smart phone (either iPhone, Android or any others that support Google Earth) are now linked into this page. Now you can track the Curiosity Rover on tablets too! Follow the highlighted, bold-faced link and learn how to set it up in 12 easy-to-follow steps. Leave any pertinent questions here so others can benefit from your experience.
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The upload for 735 contains a little bonus…you’ll find a link on the current position of MSL to “Micorosoft Photosynth” and an item on my page there (ross204). This gives a panoramic view, compositely rendered from the Left NavCam data uploaded by MSL this Sol. More sophisticated uploads will follow in the future, when imagery makes such things possible.
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Left NavCam-B image uploaded for Sol 734 highlight looks as if it might be looking across the Amargosa Valley — but differences in the textured representation of the mountain terrain in Google Earth and what MSL actually sees on the ground make positive identification of the terrain difficult. There was no specific indicator from NASA whether Left NavCam-B could zoom or pivot; nor any image data indicating cropping of the data would have us looking at an angle other than 90°, 0 elev from the vehicle chassis. Please offer comment on any pertinent possibility if you know. (An answer from NASA by email may not be forthcoming.)
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