MSL Curiosity Rover: Labeled Images of Martian Terrain and Features

6,820 images from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, captured by its Mastcam and MAHLI instruments, are labeled into 19 science and engineering classes. Each image was labeled by three volunteers, with a consensus process used to determine the final class. The dataset is pre-split for machine learning, covering Martian days (sols) 1 through 2224, with all images resized to 227x227 pixels.

Use Cases

• [Training image classifiers] based on [19 labeled classes of Martian terrain and rover hardware]
• [Evaluating model generalization] based on [the temporal split of training, validation, and test sets across different sol ranges]
• [Studying feature distribution over time] based on [imagery sampled from sols 1 to 2224]
• [Benchmarking planetary image analysis] based on [a curated, multi-instrument dataset from a major Mars mission]

Strengths

• Contains 6,820 directly labeled images from a primary NASA/JPL mission, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover
• Labels were determined via a three-volunteer consensus process with manual review for disagreements
• Provides a predefined temporal split for machine learning, with training (sols 1-948), validation (sols 949-1920), and test (sols 1921-2224) sets

Limitations

• Image resolution is standardized to 227x227 pixels, which likely involves downsampling and does not preserve the original aspect ratio
• Metadata such as exact column names, file size, and specific last update date is not provided in the sources
• The 5,920 training images include augmented images, but the number of original vs. augmented images is not specified

Provenance

Source

Images collected by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover instruments: Mastcam Left Eye, Mastcam Right Eye, and Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).

Collection Method

Images were labeled with help from three volunteers per image, with a consensus process and manual review to determine final class labels.

Time Range

Covers Martian days (sols) 1 to 2224.

Geography

Mars, specifically the Gale Crater region explored by the Curiosity Rover.