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Mars rover at JPL

JPL's John Grotzinger, center left, and other scientists take pictures during the surface science and sampling end-to-end thread test of the Mars rover.

JPL’s John Grotzinger, center left, and other scientists take pictures during the surface science and sampling end-to-end thread test of the Mars rover.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

Mars rover at the Mars Science Laboratory inside the In-Situ Instruments Lab at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Taking a peak

JPL’s Joseph Carsten and Vandi Tompkin watch from underneath the rover during the testing.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

Kicking back

Megan Wu and Leslie Lipkaman of Malin Space Science Systems relax after a long night of running sequences to be loaded onto the rover during testing.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

Drill bit

JPL’s John Grotzinger observes the drill arm as it prepare to dig into a rock sample.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

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Rover driver

JPL’s Joseph Carsten, a rover driver and flight software developer, cozies up to the aluminum wheel of the rover.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

Up on wheels

An aluminum wheel supports the rover during the testing.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

Front-row seat

JPL’s Vandi Tompkin, a rover driver and flight software bug tester, has a front-row seat to the testing.  (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)

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