Curiosity Works Its Robotic Arm During Sunset

Click here for animation (.gif, 3.6 MB)

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view of its robotic arm during sunset on Sept. 16, 2025, the 4,661st Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This series of six images shows the rover’s 7-foot-long (2.5-meter-long) arm setting its turret, a rotating platform for science instruments, onto rock targets nicknamed “Turbio” and “Rio Aguas Blancas.”

The front hazard cameras, located on the front of the rover’s chassis, took the images between 3:55 and 4:51 p.m. local Mars time, showcasing the lengthening shadows at the end of the day. The sun finally set at 4:54 p.m. local Mars time.

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

For more about Curiosity, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity.

Continue Reading