Abigail Fraeman's Avatar

Abigail Fraeman

@abbyfrae.bsky.social

Planetary scientist. Deputy Project Scientist for Curiosity and (formerly) Opportunity Mars rovers. Muppet aficionado. Views and opinions my own. She/her.

793 Followers  |  160 Following  |  51 Posts  |  Joined: 15.11.2024
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Posts by Abigail Fraeman (@abbyfrae.bsky.social)

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Curiosity Lights Up ‘Nevado Sajama’ at Night - NASA Science NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used LED lights on the end of its robotic arm to create this rare nighttime view of the Red Planet’s surface on

Still on Mars with Curiosity. Still doing awesome science.

Love this recent "MAHLI after dark" image we acquired last month of our drill in the super cool boxwork region:
science.nasa.gov/resource/cur...

28.01.2026 01:01 — 👍 85    🔁 18    💬 2    📌 1
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NASA Found Something on Mars. Now We Might Just Leave It There NASA spent years and billions of dollars collecting Martian samples to bring home. Now they might be stranded

NASA spent years and billions of dollars collecting Martian samples to bring home. But Congress's current proposed budget for the agency would leave them stranded. What's at stake? Take a deep dive with this recent feature:

07.01.2026 16:25 — 👍 573    🔁 206    💬 41    📌 15
A panorama stitched together of two different photos, showing a yellow sky above the surface of Mars on the left and a pale blue sky on the right. At the bottom of the image is part of the Curiosity rover, which took the photos. The martian surface is covered in grey rocks and tan sediment, looking out between two mounds.

A panorama stitched together of two different photos, showing a yellow sky above the surface of Mars on the left and a pale blue sky on the right. At the bottom of the image is part of the Curiosity rover, which took the photos. The martian surface is covered in grey rocks and tan sediment, looking out between two mounds.

#PPOD: Team members working with NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover created this “postcard” by commanding the rover to take images at two times of day on Nov. 18, 2025, spanning the 4,722nd and 4,723rd Martian days, or sols, of the mission. 🧪 🔭

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

05.01.2026 16:00 — 👍 64    🔁 19    💬 1    📌 0

Ahhh love it!!

05.01.2026 21:20 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

A beautiful sketch of Curiosity's tactical ops room (with a title that makes me tear up 🥲).

Thanks so much for sharing this @sharponlooker.net

19.12.2025 04:51 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins - NASA Science Written by Abigail Fraeman, Deputy Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Happy Landiversary Curiosity. <3

science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosi...

07.08.2025 15:33 — 👍 18    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0
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Marking 13 Years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Picks Up New Skills - NASA New capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries.

www.nasa.gov/missions/mar...

Our JPL engineers continue to blow my mind with their talent. Squeezing every drop of science out of our wonderful rover that we can!

(h/t to @dougellison.bsky.social for making my late night request to acquire this Navcam postcard a reality. The view was too good!)

04.08.2025 18:50 — 👍 86    🔁 29    💬 1    📌 1
Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

Image sent back by Curiosity Mars rover

The Curiosity rover is sending back some jaw-droppingly gorgeous views from Mars right now... Well done everyone on the camera teams|! Just look at this glorious detail and lighting...! Images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/fredk/S Atkinson

12.06.2025 16:36 — 👍 216    🔁 57    💬 6    📌 7

It's just a (very convincing) optical illusion... it's actually a dust covered rock and the dust is nearly the same color as the unit behind it, making it look like a window. Good eye!

28.05.2025 21:29 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Can't stop staring at these new views of crazy yardang unit!!! (The light colored cliffs that are furthest away)

28.05.2025 17:06 — 👍 21    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0
Rocks and sand.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Rocks and sand. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Stunning late afternoon view of the lower boxworks from the Mars Curiosity Rover, taken with MastCam on Sol 4547.

flic.kr/p/2r6v3t3

23.05.2025 15:00 — 👍 53    🔁 10    💬 1    📌 1
Photo of a waterfall surrounded by green plants.

Photo of a waterfall surrounded by green plants.

View of a waterfall surrounded by misty mountains

View of a waterfall surrounded by misty mountains

Close up of rain drops on a leaf

Close up of rain drops on a leaf

Monday moment of zen: Photos from last Saturday's hike to Trail Canyon Falls, just a 30 min drive from Pasadena.

There were not many people out during the late afternoon on that drizzly day, and we ended up having the falls all to ourselves. Pure magic.

20.05.2025 06:28 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

The boxwork structure captured by Curiosity's navigation camera earlier today

#Mars May 16, 2025 - Sol 4541 🧪🔭
Credit images: NASA/JPL-Caltech

16.05.2025 18:36 — 👍 29    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 1
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Light finds a way through. #photography

02.05.2025 21:22 — 👍 112    🔁 8    💬 5    📌 0

Yup! Beautiful processing!

02.05.2025 18:07 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Proposed NASA cuts in context, courtesy of the Planetary Society #astronomy #science

02.05.2025 16:47 — 👍 100    🔁 47    💬 2    📌 3

aaaagggghhhh thanks!

18.04.2025 14:55 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Oh no! Something got messed up in the links - thanks for pointing out! Wish I could edit...

Paper! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Perspective! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

18.04.2025 14:55 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Really proud of this.

Amazing detective work lead by the brilliant Ben Tutolo, made possible by the entire Curiosity Mars Rover team.

Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Perspective: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

18.04.2025 00:32 — 👍 54    🔁 8    💬 4    📌 1

Oh hey! It's me, here to drop some truth on your beautiful but fake images!

18.04.2025 00:24 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

:)

11.04.2025 15:54 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Beautiful early morning light on Mars

10.04.2025 23:56 — 👍 10    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
Cette vue a été acquise par la caméra de navigation NavCam Right du rover martien Curiosity au sol 4505, le 8 avril 2025, à 7h10 heure locale. La colline à droite, dont un flanc est plongé dans l'ombre, a été baptisée Gould Mesa. Elle est haute de 30m. Au loin, on distingue clairement le rempart du cratère Gale grâce à la faible opacité de l'atmosphère en cette saison.

Cette vue a été acquise par la caméra de navigation NavCam Right du rover martien Curiosity au sol 4505, le 8 avril 2025, à 7h10 heure locale. La colline à droite, dont un flanc est plongé dans l'ombre, a été baptisée Gould Mesa. Elle est haute de 30m. Au loin, on distingue clairement le rempart du cratère Gale grâce à la faible opacité de l'atmosphère en cette saison.

Alors que la situation sur Terre n'est pas des plus paisibles, le rover Curiosity poursuit son exploration du cratère Gale.
Cette sublime vue a été assemblée à partir d'images acquises hier, à 7h heure martienne. A droite s'élève Gould Mesa, haute de 30 m.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Thomas Appéré

09.04.2025 15:58 — 👍 81    🔁 22    💬 3    📌 2
Black-and-white photo from the Curiosity rover of a rocky desert terrain, shadowy in the low sunlight. Scattered rocks and ripples of dust in the foreground. In the middle distance rises a layered hill of rock. The crater rim appears as a mountain range on the distant horizon.

Black-and-white photo from the Curiosity rover of a rocky desert terrain, shadowy in the low sunlight. Scattered rocks and ripples of dust in the foreground. In the middle distance rises a layered hill of rock. The crater rim appears as a mountain range on the distant horizon.

Sometimes it's "safe travels" and sometimes it's Ed Abbey: "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view."

Gale Crater, Mars, on Tuesday.

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

03.04.2025 21:00 — 👍 49    🔁 11    💬 0    📌 1

Emily said it perfectly.

14.03.2025 20:07 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

You do!

14.03.2025 20:03 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

In love with this new photo from the Hera spacecraft showing the "backside" of Deimos aka weird little space potato full of mystery!

13.03.2025 19:06 — 👍 18    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Early morning light illuminating the hills of Mt. Sharp's sulfate unit. Imaged last week by Curiosity.

13.03.2025 03:07 — 👍 26    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 0
Friendship bracelet that says "Curiosity 2011" and also has six hematite beads representing rover wheels.

Friendship bracelet that says "Curiosity 2011" and also has six hematite beads representing rover wheels.

So obsessed with the amazing friendship bracelet @elakdawalla.bsky.social handed me during yesterday's poster session at #LPSC2025. Do you see the six hematite rover wheels? Eeeee!!!! <3

12.03.2025 22:20 — 👍 66    🔁 2    💬 3    📌 0

THIS IS SO COOL

10.03.2025 03:55 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0