Which NASA rover landed in Gale Crater in 2012?

The NASA rover that landed in Gale Crater in 2012 was Curiosity. It arrived on Mars on August 6, 2012, as the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.

Curiosity was delivered using an innovative sky-crane system. After atmospheric entry and a parachute descent, a rocket-powered descent stage lowered the car-sized rover on cables before flying away and crashing at a safe distance. The landing site was later named Bradbury Landing.

Gale Crater was selected because its layered rocks preserve evidence that liquid water once existed there. Curiosity has been investigating Aeolis Palus and Mount Sharp, the approximately 5.5-kilometre-high mountain rising from the crater floor. Its instruments analyze minerals, rocks, soil, radiation, weather, and atmospheric chemistry.

The rover is sometimes confused with Perseverance, which landed in Jezero Crater in 2021. Spirit and Opportunity were earlier Mars Exploration Rovers; both landed in 2004 and explored different regions.