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Curiosity Mars Rover

The Mars rover Curiosity, also known as the Science Laboratory, will launch in late 2011 and land on the Red Planet in August 2012.

Related Topics: Mars, NASA, India Mars Orbiter Mission, Mars Rover Opportunity, Exomars

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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used two different cameras to create this selfie in front of a rock outcrop named Mont Mercou, which stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall.

Possible sign of Mars life? Curiosity rover finds 'tantalizing' Red Planet organics

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Curiosity rover has found some interesting organic compounds that may be signs of ancient Mars life, but much more work is needed to vet that hypothesis.

This panorama, made up of 81 individual images stitched together, was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Nov. 20, 2021, which was the 3,303rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission.

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover shares new panoramic view of Red Planet

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Curiosity rover snapped a stunning new selfie surrounded by expansive, rocky terrain on Mars.

Mars as seen from orbit by NASA’s Viking mission.

Mars: What we know about the Red Planet

By Charles Q. Choi published

Learn about planet Mars’ atmosphere, water supply and the possibility to support life, plus findings from the various Mars rover missions.

NASA's Mars missions will go offline during a temporary communications blackout in October 2021. (Clockwise, from top left: Perseverance rover, Ingenuity helicopter, InSight lander, Odyssey orbiter, MAVEN orbiter, Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)

NASA Mars missions facing 2-week communications blackout as sun blocks Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA plans to pause most of its Martian work in October for safety reasons associated with the Red Planet's position in space.

A portion of a panorama that was created by the Curiosity mission team using 129 images captured by the Mars rover’s Mastcam imager on July 3, 2021.

Mars rover Curiosity reaches intriguing transition zone on Red Planet (video)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has rolled into a patch of ground that could shed considerable light on the Red Planet's climate history.

NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars' Gale Crater since touching down on its floor in August 2012.

Giant ancient lake in Gale Crater on Mars? New study offers different view.

By Mike Wall published

Mars' Gale Crater may not have been so wet after all, a new study suggests.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used two different cameras to create this selfie in front of a rock outcrop named Mont Mercou, which stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall.

9 years on Mars! Curiosity rover marks another anniversary

By Mike Wall published

Since touching down on Aug. 5, 2012, Curiosity has been helping scientists better understand Mars' past habitability and how the planet has changed over time.

This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, taken in January 2018, shows the vehicle on Vera Rubin Ridge in Gale Crater on Mars.

Mars methane mystery may be starting to clear up

By Mike Wall published

Scientists now seem to understand why the gas has been detected at ground level on Mars but not higher up in the air.

An image made from 21 photographs taken by Curiosity shows twilight clouds just after sunset on March 19, 2021, adjusted to appear as the scene would to human eyes.

NASA's Curiosity rover spots strange, colorful clouds on Mars

By Meghan Bartels published

It might look like a postcard from Arizona, but this snapshot shows something much more exotic: the planet Mars, as seen by NASA's Curiosity rover.

The HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this photo of the Curiosity rover on April 18, 2021.

Curiosity rover on Mars spotted from space as it climbs 'Mont Mercou' (video)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a dramatic image last month of Curiosity ascending Mont Mercou, a landform on the slopes of the Red Planet's 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) Mt. Sharp.

NASA's Curiosity rover exploring Mount Sharp inside the vast Gale Crater on Mars has found evidence that the planet did not lose its water all at once.

The water on Mars didn't run dry all at once, study finds

By Charles Q. Choi published

Mars did not dry up all at once, but fluctuated between dry spells and wetter times, a new study finds.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used two different cameras to create this selfie in front of a rock outcrop named Mont Mercou, which stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall.

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover snaps scenic selfie at 'Mont Mercou' (photo)

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity posed for a selfie in front of a beautiful Martian rock outcrop called "Mont Mercou" after probing the area for clues about the Red Planet's past.

This panorama, made up of 122 individual images stitched together, was taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Nov. 18, 2020, the 2,946th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

Curiosity rover celebrates 3,000 Martian days on the Red Planet

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Curiosity rover marked 3,000 Martian days, or "sols," on the Red Planet Tuesday (Jan. 12), a mere five weeks before NASA's Perseverance rover is scheduled to touch down.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie at a location nicknamed "Mary Anning" after a 19th-century English paleontologist. Curiosity collected three samples of drilled rock at this site on its way out of the Glen Torridon region, which scientists believe preserves an ancient habitable environment.

NASA's Curiosity rover snaps stunning selfie on Mars (photo)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has taken another selfie, just a few months before its six-wheeled cousin joins it on the Red Planet.

On Aug. 9, 2020, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover photographed a dust devil moving through Gale Crater, at the border between the darker and lighter slopes. 

Mars dust devil! Curiosity rover spots Red Planet twister (photos)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has spotted a dust devil swirling through the parched Red Planet landscape.

A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover taken on June 15, 2018. A Martian dust storm had reduced sunlight and visibility at the rover's location in Gale Crater at the time.

Happy anniversary, Curiosity! NASA rover marks 8 years on Mars

By Mike Wall published

NASA's car-size Curiosity rover celebrates eight years on the Red Planet today (Aug. 5), less than a week after the Perseverance rover took flight toward Mars.

Artist's concept of NASA's Curiosity rover approaching Mars. Curiosity is slated to land on the Red Planet in August 2012.

The boldest Mars missions in history

By Space.com Staff, Tom Chao published

Earth has been sending probes to Mars for decades, and some missions are especially awe-inspiring.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie on Feb. 26, 2020. The crumbling rock layer at the top of the image is the Greenheugh Pediment, which Curiosity crested on March 6.

NASA budget cuts at Mars threaten 'crisis' for Curiosity rover and prolific orbiters

By Mike Wall published

Budget cuts may force NASA's Curiosity rover mission to slam on the brakes just as it's reaching its highly anticipated home stretch.

A portion of a 1.8-billion-pixel panorama whose composite images were captured by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover between Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 2019.

See Mars like never before in this highest-resolution panorama ever from the Curiosity rover

By Mike Wall published

The Curiosity team just released a 1.8-billion-pixel panorama that features "Glen Torridon," a region on the flanks of Mars' 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) Mount Sharp.

This image by one of the Curiosity Mars rover’s hazard cameras shows the robot’s arm extended out to perform an analysis of the bedrock. Curiosity has to know the exact angle of every joint to move safely. 

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity had an attitude problem. (But it's fine now.)

By Mike Wall published

An attitude problem sidelined NASA's Mars rover Curiosity recently, but the robot's handlers whipped it back into shape in short order.