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 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…

Article2 days 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,…

Article2 days 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…

Article7 days 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…

Article1 week 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…

Article1 week 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.”…

Article2 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…

Article2 weeks ago

Sols 4284–4286: Environmental Science Extravaganza

4 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024 One of the many challenges of operating a rover on another planet is that we don’t always know where we’re going to be located before planning starts each day. Although we do plan…

Article2 weeks ago

Sols 4282-4283: Bumping Away from Kings Canyon

3 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 Having stayed in place for quite a few sols during our Kings Canyon drill campaign, we’re looking forward to doing a bump (ie: a short drive) and accomplishing some science in a new…

Article2 weeks ago

Black and white image of Mars at the Gediz Vallis channel.

Sols 4280-4281: Last Call at Kings Canyon

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 Curiosity successfully completed the drill sequence at the Kings Canyon site within the Gediz Vallis channel. Today was a smooth planning day as we decided to stay put for sols 4280 and 4281 to obtain…

Article3 weeks ago