Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover
Part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, at the time of launch, Curiosity was the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars at that time.
Curiosity Rover Celebrates 13 Years on Mars
On Aug. 5, 2012, 10:17:57 p.m. PDT (Aug. 6, 1:17:57 a.m. EDT), NASA's Curiosity rover touched down safely on Mars. Relive its descent through the Martian atmosphere — “seven minutes of terror” — with spacecraft animations and views of the team in mission control, as they await, then celebrate, the culmination of a decade of planning and a 352-million-mile journey.
Curiosity arrived, charged with helping answer the question, “Could Mars have once harbored life?” And it continues gathering clues today, after 13 years and 22 miles (35 kilometers) under its wheels.
Marking 13 Years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Picks Up New Skills
New capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries. Thirteen years since Curiosity landed on…
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meet curiosity
Size
About the size of a small SUV — 10 feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall), not including the arm.
Arm reach
About 7 feet (2.2 meters)
Mass/weight
1,982 lbs (899 kg) in Earth gravity
743 lbs (337 kg) in Mars gravity
Features
Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras
Landing Site: Gale Crater
Curiosity explores Gale Crater and acquires rock, soil, and air samples for onboard analysis. The car-size rover is about as tall as a basketball player and uses a 7 foot-long arm to place tools close to rocks selected for study. Curiosity's large size allows it to carry an advanced kit of 10 science instruments. It has tools including 17 cameras, a laser to vaporize and study small pinpoint spots of rocks at a distance, and a drill to collect powdered rock samples. It hunts for special rocks that formed in water and/or have signs of organics.
The Curiosity rover has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life. Take a tour of its landing site, Gale Crater. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech
FEATURE IMAGE
Curiosity’s 42 Drill Holes
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has collected 42 powderized rock samples with the drill on the end of its robotic arm. This grid shows all 42 holes made by the drill when collecting the samples.
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Curiosity’s 42 Drill Holes
