On August the 5th 2023 NASA celebrated the Curiosity Mars rover spending eleven years on the surface of Mars. The rover landed on the 5th of August 2012 and has been searching for microbial life on Mars ever since. Curiosity has driven over thirty kilometers since arriving on Mars.
Today, I'm celebrating my 11th landiversary! 🥳
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) August 5, 2023
In this last year, I’ve surpassed 30km, spotted another meteorite, entered a new quadrant, and encountered my toughest climb yet.
I've got more science-ing to do - so here's to more exploring on the Red Planet! pic.twitter.com/Bon1lvYwKP
What is the Curiosity rover?
The Curiosity Mars rover is an 899-kilogram science rover built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was launched on an Atlas V on the 26th of November 2011. NASA states that the mission of Curiosity on Mars is;
Curiosity set out to answer the question: Did Mars ever have the right environmental conditions to support small life forms called microbes? Early in its mission, Curiosity's scientific tools found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments on Mars. It continues to explore the rock record from a time when Mars could have been home to microbial life.
NASA also states the following about its area of exploration on Mars and its science instruments;
Curiosity explores Gale Crater and acquires rock, soil, and air samples for onboard analysis. The car-size rover is about as tall as a basketball player and uses a 7 foot-long arm to place tools close to rocks selected for study. Curiosity's large size allows it to carry an advanced kit of 10 science instruments. It has tools including 17 cameras, a laser to vaporize and study small pinpoint spots of rocks at a distance, and a drill to collect powdered rock samples. It hunts for special rocks that formed in water and/or have signs of organics.
Curiosity carries the biggest, most advanced instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. The history of Martian climate and geology is written in the chemistry and structure of the rocks and soil. Curiosity reads this record by analyzing powdered samples drilled from rocks. It also measures the chemical fingerprints present in different rocks and soils to determine their composition and history, especially their past interactions with water.