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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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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NASA's Curiosity rover has detected several intriguing spikes of methane in the air of Mars' Gale Crater.

Methane Mystery on Mars May Get a Partial Answer Soon

By Mike Wall

NASA's Curiosity rover may have just taken a big step toward cracking the Mars methane mystery.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover imaged these drifting clouds on May 17, 2019, the 2,410th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, using its black-and-white Navigation Cameras.

1st Methane, Now Oxygen: Another Possible 'Biosignature' Gas Is Acting Weird on Mars

By Mike Wall

Another possible biosignature gas is behaving strangely in Mars' air.

A photo of Mars taken by the Curiosity rover shows a bleak landscape of hills and hazy crater mountains.

The Curiosity Rover Just Took a Very Emo Photo of Its Rocky Martian Prison

By Brandon Specktor

Curiosity is the last functioning rover on Mars, and its lonely mission has taken the robot to a steep mountain in the middle of a vast crater.

NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie on Oct. 11, 2019, the 2,553rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. The rover drilled twice in this location, which is nicknamed "Glen Etive."

Mars Rover Curiosity Snaps Beautiful Selfie After Rare Chemistry Experiment

By Mike Wall

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover performed some rare science work recently, then took a bit of a break to take in the austere beauty of its surroundings.

This September 2016 self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle in the scenic Murray Buttes area on lower Mount Sharp.

Ancient Lake on Mars Turned Salty for a Spell, Curiosity Rover Finds

By Mike Wall

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover may have just captured a snapshot of the Red Planet's long-ago Great Drying.

NASA's Curiosity rover, pictured here in a May 12 composite selfie, won't move as Earth and Mars reach opposite sides of the sun.

Mars Missions Stop in Their Tracks as Red Planet Drifts to the Far Side of Sun

By Rafi Letzter

Mars mission managers are dealing with the biggest source of electromagnetic interference in the solar system.

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover captured this panorama of a spot nicknamed Teal Ridge on June 18, 2019.

NASA's Curiosity Rover Still Learning After 7 Years on Mars

By Meghan Bartels

It's been seven years since NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on Mars, but the robot geologist is still tackling big questions about Red Planet rocks.