HD - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Curiosity shakes up a scoopful of dirt, dusts off the sampling system and investigates a shiny object on the surface of Mars.

Be on the lookout for two of the brightest objects in the asteroid belt, Ceres and Vesta near Jupiter plus two meteor showers!

This video clip shows the first Martian material collected by the scoop on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars Curiosity rover.

NASA scientists and engineers prepare Mars Curiosity rover for its first scoop of soil for analysis. The rover's ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments is central to assessing whether its present location on Mars, called Gale Crater, ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

Curiosity science team member Sanjeev Gupta explains how rounded pebbles spotted by the rover are convincing evidence of an ancient streambed on Mars.

Curiosity science team member William Dietrich explores the relationship between river fans found in California's Death Valley on Earth and similar fans in Gale Crater on Mars.

This engineering animation depicts the moves that NASA's rover Curiosity made on Sept. 22, 2012, when the rover touched a Martian rock with its robotic arm for the first time. Curiosity examined the rock with instruments on the arm. This animation was made with the software that engineers used for planning the maneuver: Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program.

NASA's Curiosity heads to rock target "Jake," named in honor of Mars Science Laboratory engineer Jacob Matijevic.

The animation from NASA's Dawn mission shows abundances of hydrogen in a wide swath around the equator of the giant asteroid Vesta. The hydrogen probably exists in the form of hydroxyl or water bound to minerals in Vesta's surface.

NASA Curiosity flight director David Oh updates us on the rover and his family’s experience on Mars time.

NASA's Curiosity rover takes a short breather on her trek to Glenelg to check out her arm instruments.

This engineering drawing shows the location of the arm on NASA's Curiosity rover, in addition to the arm's turret, which holds two instruments and three tools.

This video highlights Dawn's top accomplishments during its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta.

Inspired by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's mission to scout the moon, the annual International Observe the Moon Night is an event that you do not want to miss.

Curiosity sends home special messages before heading onto the Martian plain towards her first target.