NASA’s Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012 to investigate whether the planet once had conditions suitable for life.
Curiosity arrived on August 6, 2012, after NASA used an unusual “sky crane” landing system. A rocket-powered descent stage hovered above the surface and lowered the rover on cables before flying away to crash at a safe distance.
The rover’s science goal is to assess Mars’s past habitability, rather than to search directly for living organisms. It has studied rocks, soil, radiation, and atmospheric chemistry while climbing the lower slopes of Mount Sharp, a central mountain inside Gale Crater.
Curiosity is larger and more capable than the earlier Spirit and Opportunity rovers. It also differs from Perseverance, which landed in 2021 and is designed to collect sealed rock and soil samples for possible future return to Earth.