This chart illustrates how NASA's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover" class="extiw" title="w:Curiosity rover">Curiosity rover</a> talks to Earth. While the rover can send direct messages, it communicates more efficiently with the help of spacecraft in Mars orbit, including NASA's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Mars_Odyssey" class="extiw" title="w:2001 Mars Odyssey">Odyssey</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Reconnaissance_Orbiter" class="extiw" title="w:Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter</a>, and the European Space Agency's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Express" class="extiw" title="w:Mars Express">Mars Express</a>. (In the diagram, "MSL Mission Operations" stands for "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory" class="extiw" title="w:Mars Science Laboratory">Mars Science Laboratory</a> Mission Operations".)
NASA/JPL-Caltech
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