Curiosity Rover Updates 

These updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public. Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

A grayscale view of the Martian surface shows undulating terrain rising gently toward the upper right of the frame, where it reaches a hill that then extends at a 45-degree angle to the top-right corner of the image. Off in the distance at the far left is another butte rising from the ground. The rocks and soil throughout are mainly medium to dark gray, except for several much brighter-toned rocks scattered around the scene that stand out from the rest.

Sols 4307-4308: Bright Rocks Catch Our Eyes

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 We made good progress through Gediz Vallis in the weekend drive, landing in a segment of the channel containing a mix of loose rubble and other channel-filling debris. Amongst the jumbled scene, though,…

Article2 days ago
In celebration of ChemCam’s milestone, here is a stunning image from its remote micro imager, showing details in the landscape far away. This image was taken by Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4302 (2024-09-12 09:20:51 UTC).

Sols 4304-4006: 12 Years, 42 Drill Holes, and Now… 1 Million ChemCam Shots!

5 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 Today, I need to talk about ChemCam, our laser and imaging instrument on the top of Curiosity’s mast. It one of the instruments in the “head” that gives Curiosity that cute look as…

Article6 days ago
Image taken by Curiosity of Mars at the "Balloon Dome" location

Sols 4302-4303: West Side of Upper Gediz Vallis, From Tungsten Hills to the Next Rocky Waypoint

3 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 The rover is on its way from the Tungsten Hills site to the next priority site for Gediz Vallis channel exploration, in which we plan to get in close enough for arm science…

Article6 days ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover captures parts of the rover in the bottom half of the frame, including a crosspiece imprinted with its name and a line drawing of Curiosity. On the dark soil just below that is a very large, craggy rock in medium gray, while ahead of that is a much larger, much darker rock in the rover’s path, with the side showing looking like the raggedy edge view of the pages of a book torn in half.

Sols 4300-4301: Rippled Pages

3 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 With today’s plan, Curiosity completes its most southerly planned exploration of the Gediz Vallis channel. From here, our rover will head north and climb out of the channel to explore terrain to the…

Article1 week ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface shows medium gray soil interspersed with numerous light-colored rocks poking up from beneath the surface, on the left side of the frame, where one, much larger and darker rock, sits alone near the top of the frame. The right side of the image shows part of the rover, including two of its zig-zag treaded wheels, themselves covered in rocks and dust of various shades of gray.

Sols 4297-4299: This Way to Tungsten Hills

2 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 Curiosity completed an impressive 60-meter drive (about 197 feet) across the channel floor within Gediz Vallis and parked along the edge of a shallow linear depression. Just about 20 meters (66 feet) away,…

Article1 week ago
A color image of the Mars surface shows rocks and soil in varying shades of pale orange and rusty grayish-tan. The formation is divided vertically in the image, with the right two-thirds showing an uneven rock outcrop, mostly light-colored with some areas of gray. The left side of the image is flatter and smoother, a little lower than the light-colored rocks at right, with a scattering of small pebbles.

Sols 4295-4296: A Martian Moon and Planet Earth

2 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 Today’s two-sol plan contains the usual science blocks filled with contact science and remote science to observe and assess the geology surrounding us. However, the Mastcam team is hoping to capture a special…

Article2 weeks ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface, in a wide-angle, nearly fisheye view, shows a flat, medium gray area in front of the rover, covered with rocks and pebbles of various sizes, with a very large slab of much lighter-colored rock at the center of the image. Parts of the rover are visible in the four corners of the frame, and in the distance are two large, layered buttes rising from the ground.

Sol 4294: Return to McDonald Pass

2 min read

Earth planning date: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024 Curiosity has returned to “McDonald Pass,” a block within Gediz Vallis that we first spotted about a month ago (as seen in the above Front Hazcam image). The block shows some interesting zonation…

Article2 weeks ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover shows terrain ahead of the rover, mostly medium gray soil covered in scattered pebbles of various sizes, with a few slabs of much lighter colored rock showing – mostly at the bottom of the frame, where part of the rover is also showing, and the right side of the frame.

Sols 4291-4293: Fairview Dome, the Sequel

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 Our backwards drive to “McDonald Pass” got hung up on the steep slopes of “Fairview Dome,” but unlike a lot of movie sequels, our inadvertent return visit to Fairview Dome was at least…

Article2 weeks ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover captures parts of the rover in the bottom third of the frame, including a crosspiece imprinted with its name and a line drawing of Curiosity. Ahead of the rover, on the right side of the frame, terrain consisting of large slabs of flat, light gray rock are criss-crossed with long, dark gouges, and sprinkled with small rocks. The left side of the frame is also flat, but with smaller slabs barely visible underneath the soil covering them. Beneath Curiosity, in a patch of ground visible between the rover’s body and the crosspiece, is a very light-colored rock, visible just below the “C” in Curiosity’s name.

Sols 4289-4290: From Discovery Pinnacle to Kings Canyon and Back Again

4 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 28 2024 We are back … almost, anyways. Today’s parking location is very close to where we parked on sol 4253, and in an area near one of the previous contact science targets “Discovery Pinnacle.”…

Article3 weeks ago
A grayscale photo of the Martian surface shows rocky terrain in shades of medium gray, with larger slabs and smaller rocks interspersed with areas of smooth soil, but several small-to-medium rocks stand out — in the middle-left and bottom parts of the frame — having surfaces much brighter and lighter-colored than anything around them.

Sols 4287-4288: Back on the Road

3 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 Today’s planning day was a good example of how our team comes together to make quick decisions based on new information and science priorities. The original intent of today’s plan was to perform…

Article3 weeks ago