First Rock Contact by Curiosity's Arm (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.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech