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 photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover captures medium gray, very uneven terrain in front of the rover, with many angular, lighter-toned, medium-sized rocks protruding from the smooth soil. The bottom of the frame shows part of the rover, running from the middle left to the lower right corner of the image, including part of its robotic arm which carries a nameplate imprinted with “Curiosity” outlined in all capital letters, and to the right of that a line drawing of the rover.

Sol 4370-4371: All About the Polygons

2 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 We planned two very full sols today! The sol 4369 drive completed successfully, and the rover was in a stable enough position that we could unstow the arm — something we don’t take…

Article1 day ago

A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface shows, in the foreground, medium gray soil that looks like wind-blown sand dunes, with a few rounded, medium-sized rocks poking up from the ground. Beyond this area, and covering the upper half of the frame in this circular image, is much more rocky terrain, with both sharp and rounded rocks of all sizes covering the ground.

Sols 4368-4369: The Colors of Fall – and Mars

3 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 I am in the U.K., where we are approaching the time when trees are just branches and twigs. One tree that still has its full foliage is my little quince tree in my…

Article4 days ago

A grayscale landscape photo from Mars, showing a broad, medium gray, rock-strewn plain in the foreground extending far into the distance, surrounded by several hills. The closest hill, in the lower right corner, rises up toward the side of the frame, and is darker than the floor below. A little farther out, on the left, a gentle slope rises from the low middle of the frame to middle of the left side; it’s about the same color as the valley floor, except for a band at its farthest edge, which darkens abruptly as if covered in shadow. The terrain appears softer than the ground below, more sandy than rocky. Beyond that along the same rising plane is a much lighter area, with scattered tiny peaks that are darker – looking like the top of a baked meringue pie. The channel floor runs between these hills, then appears to curve toward the right, behind the first hill and in front of the second. Finally, one other rounded peak appears above the horizon, behind these other two hills in the lower right of the frame, all of this below a light-gray sky filling more than half of the frame above.

Sols 4366–4367: One of Those Days on Mars (Sulfate-Bearing Unit to the West of Upper Gediz Vallis)

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 The Monday plan and drive had executed successfully, so the team had high hopes for APXS and MAHLI data on several enticing targets in the rover’s workspace. Alas, it was not to be:…

Article6 days ago

A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows a pale orange rocky outcropping, which looks on top like a sheet of coarse sandpaper, and on the side facing the camera like the feature is made from numerous, stacked thin layers, with undulating edges that make it look like a topographic map. Atop the feature are multiple plates of smooth stone in the same pale orange color, in different shapes, at different angles to each other, with a texture resembling clippings of thick, dense felt.

Sols 4362-4363: Plates and Polygons

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 11, 2024 After a successful 23-meter (about 75 feet) drive today in pre-planning we found ourselves in front of some rocks with a curious dark, platy topping. This is similar to material we have seen…

Article2 weeks ago

Sols 4359-4361: The Perfect Road Trip Destination For Any Rover!

2 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 After the excitement of Wednesday’s plan, it was a relief to come in today to hear that the drive toward our exit from Gediz Vallis completed successfully and that we weren’t perched on…

Article2 weeks ago

A grayscale photo from the Martian surface shows parts of the Curiosity rover filling the right half of the frame, and the surrounding terrain filling the left half. The terrain is very rocky, with large slabs of light gray rocks — flat triangles, trapezoids and other shapes — mostly filling the upper-left quadrant of the photo. The lower quadrant shows the surrounding sandy soil, darker gray than the rocks, showing wavy lines like windblown dunes. The rover's wide, barrel-shaped wheel dominates the lower right corner of the frame, resting on the sand, with a few raggged holes showing wear-and-tear in between its zig-zag tread pattern. In the upper-right of the photo, another wheel rests atop one of the flat rocks, higher than the other wheel.

Sols 4357–4358: Turning West

4 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 If you’ve ever driven down a road that’s in need of repaving, you’ll know that it can be an uncomfortable experience. The same is true on Mars: even at our carefully slow driving…

Article2 weeks ago

A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows an area of pale orange, fine-grained soil, resembling a sheet of sandpaper. A large trapezoid-shaped stone sits atop that, filling most of the right two-thirds of the frame. The top surface of the stone facing the viewer is uneven, with numerous lines running left to right, suggesting it’s made of many layers.

Sols 4355-4356: Weekend Success Brings Monday Best

3 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 After a spooky week last week, it’s great to see all our weekend plans succeed as planned! We don’t take success for granted as a rover going on 13 years. With all of…

Article3 weeks ago

A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows an area of what looks like pale orange, fine-grained soil or sand that’s reflective, as if it were moist (or just shiny). It’s terraced, creating different levels that look like a topographic map, and overlaid across the top of the entire area is a latticework that in several places looks like the cells of a layer of dried foam. Most of the area is sunlit, but about a third of the image — from the top center of the frame to the lower right corner — is in shadow, presumably cast by the Curiosity rover.

Sols 4352-4354: Halloween Fright Night on Mars

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 1, 2024 Yesterday evening (Thursday) was Halloween for many of us here on Earth. My neighborhood in eastern Canada was full of small (and not so small!) children, running around in the dark collecting sweets…

Article3 weeks ago

A grayscale image from the Martian surface shows medium gray soil interspersed with numerous lighter colored flat rocks. Wheel tracks from the rover are visible on the ground in the upper right corner of the frame. Portions of the rover are also visible in the middle of the frame.

Sols 4350-4351: A Whole Team Effort

2 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 Just like you and me, the Curiosity rover has a few idiosyncratic tendencies — special ways that the rover behaves that we, the team on Earth, have come to understand to be harmless…

Article3 weeks ago

A close-up color photo of terrain on Mars shows a mounded spread of what looks like whipped chunky peanut butter, in color and consistency, covering almost all of the frame from upper right to lower left. Two small triangles in the upper left and lower right corners of the frame show the fine sand that borders either side of the other material.

Sols 4348-4349: Smoke on the Water

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 Before the science team starts planning, we first look at the latest Navcam image downlinked from Curiosity to see where the rover is located. It can be all too easy to get lost…

Article4 weeks ago