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, in a wide-angle, nearly fisheye view, shows a large, flat, medium gray area in front of the rover, where pebbles and soil are interspersed with large, lighter-colored slabs, which are peeking up from underground. Shadows of parts of the rover form a U around the bottom perimeter of the frame. Two other instruments are just visible, poking into the upper left and right corners of the frame.

Sols 4253-4254: Pit Stop for Contact Science

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, July 22, 2024 Last week we wrapped up activities at Fairview Dome and started heading south towards our next potential drill location in the Upper Gediz Vallis ridge campaign. We had about a 29-meter (about 95…

Article3 days ago
A grayscale image from the Martian surface shows a wide, flat area with multiple small rocks scattered around the surface, with a couple of dusted-over slabs, lighter in color than the surrounding ground, making up part of this flat area. Other parts of the terrain are covered in smooth streaks, resembling very fine-grained mud that has dried. A large dark area, looking like a shadow or fissure, cuts through the scene from the lower left of the frame to the upper right. At center is the mechanical arm of the Curiosity rover, extending into the middle of the frame, then at a joint, bending down to the surface. At the end of the arm, touching the ground, is a large instrument, with a central shaft going into a body that has cube- and cylinder-shaped pieces sticking out in five or more directions.

Sols 4250-4252: So Many Rocks, So Little Time

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, July 19, 2024 As usual with our weekend plans, we are packing a lot of science into today’s three-sol plan. I had the fun of planning a complex and large set of arm activities as the…

Article3 days ago
A wide-angle, nearly fisheye view, grayscale photograph of the Martian surface shows a large, medium gray, diamond-shaped rock slab in front of the rover, with uneven cracks on the pebbly surface making a sort of X, dividing the slab into four smaller diamonds. Rover wheels are visible at the left and right edges of the frame, and a rocky butte rises in the horizon, dominating the upper right corner of the image.

Sols 4248-4249: Lunch at Fairview Dome

2 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 17, 2024 We started our day at an outcrop called “Fairview Dome,” a light-colored rock so big that it can easily be seen from orbit! We have had our eye on Fairview Dome since Curiosity…

Article1 week 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. Ahead of the rover, rough, pebbly terrain in various shades of medium gray fills the rest of the frame, with scattered light gray rocks poking out of the soil. A medium-sized rock at upper left, the focus of the rover's attention, resembles a medium gray pita sandwich sitting upright on the ground.

Sols 4246-4247: Next Stop: Fairview Dome

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, July 15, 2024 Summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere here on Earth. Warmer temperatures and fair weather make for prime opportunities for road trips and enjoying the best of the outdoors. Summer is…

Article1 week ago
A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover captures parts of the rover in the bottom of the frame, including a crosspiece showing the last three letters of Curiosity and a line drawing of the rover, with a portion of one wheel visible in the lower right. Ahead of the rover, rough, pebbly terrain in various shades of medium gray fills the rest of the frame, with isolated patches of very light gray rocks poking out of the soil. At center is a large, arrowhead-shaped slab, looking like a chicken nugget covered in breadcrumbs. The ground immediately surrounding the slab, and a narrow rivulet extending away from the slab, are much smoother than the rest of thr ground, looking like dried mud.

Sols 4243-4245: Exploring Stubblefield Canyon

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, July 12, 2024 Curiosity, now heading uphill from the Mammoth Lakes drill site, has focused on a very interesting exposure of conglomerate rocks, consisting of pebbles cemented together by a fine-grained matrix material. On Earth, conglomerate…

Article1 week ago
Grayscale photo shows an extreme wide-angle view of the Martian landscape, with the horizon forming a semicircle across the upper third of the frame. Light-colored rocks – almost white – are exposed and scattered across the medium gray, pebbly soil just in front of the rover, filling the center of the frame, while smooth, gentle hills mark the horizon beyond.

Sols 4241–4242: We Can’t Go Around It…We’ve Got To Go Through It!

2 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 10, 2024 Curiosity is currently trekking across Gediz Vallis channel because, as my nephew’s favorite book says, if we can’t go around it… we’ve got to go through it! Recently we’ve been parked for a…

Article2 weeks ago
On a Martian surface covered in fine, powdery, brownish-orange soil, a large pockmarked rock – resembling a natural sponge – dominates half of the frame, extending from the upper-right corner to the center.

Sols 4239-4240: ‘Vuggin’ Out’

2 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, July 8, 2024 And just like we planned, Curiosity successfully drove about 11 meters (about 36 feet) after a 27-sol drill campaign at Mammoth Lakes! Not so fast, though, these rocks are just too interesting to…

Article2 weeks ago
An overhead image of Martian terrain, light orange-brown and resembling a bundt-cake pan viewed from above. A dark drill hole is at center, surrounded by a doughnut-shaped area of soft-looking soil scraped from the hard-packed surface.

Sols 4236-4238: One More Time… for Contact Science at Mammoth Lakes

2 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, July 5, 2024 Curiosity will drive away from the Mammoth Lakes drill location on the second sol of this three-sol weekend plan, but before she does, the team will take the opportunity for one last chance…

Article3 weeks ago
Against a blurry orange-bown backdrop of the Martian surface, an instrument pokes into the frame from upper right. What looks like a gray metal base fills the upper right corner, and extending from that is a spindle, with what looks like a grinding drill bit at its end, terminating at the center of the image.

Sols 4234-4235: And That’s (Nearly) a Wrap on Mammoth Lakes!

2 min read

Earth Planning Date: Wednesday, July 3, 2024 We received the data from our SAM analysis of the Mammoth Lakes sample late Monday afternoon. After chewing over the results, the team declared we are very happy with all of the analyses…

Article3 weeks ago
A black and white photo of a Martian landscape, looking cross-hatched as if viewed through a window screen. The terrain at lower left resembles coarse sandpaper, while the other three-quarers of the image frame show undulating dunes, looking like folds in satin fabric.

Sols 4232-4233: Going For a Ride, Anyone?

5 min read

Earth planning date: Monday, July 1, 2024 Have you ever wondered what it might look like to ride along with the rover? Probably not as much as we have here on the planning team, where we are looking at the…

Article4 weeks ago