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Curiosity Rover

Curiosity
Curiosity Self-Portrait at 'Big Sky' Drilling Site.jpg
Self-portrait of Curiosity located at the foothill of Mount Sharp (October 6, 2015)
Mission type Mars rover
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 2011-070A
SATCAT no. 37936
Website mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
Mission duration Primary: 668 sols (687 days)
Current: 1641 sols (1686 days) since landing
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Dry mass Rover only: 899 kg (1,982 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date November 26, 2011, 15:02:00 (2011-11-26UTC15:02Z) UTC
Rocket Atlas V 541 (AV-028)
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-41
Orbital parameters
Reference system Heliocentric (transfer)
Mars rover
Spacecraft component Rover
Landing date August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC SCET
MSD 49269 05:53:28 AMT
Landing site Aeolis Palus ("Bradbury Landing") in Gale Crater
(4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417 (Bradbury Landing))
Distance covered 15.30 km (9.51 mi)
as of 22 January 2017
Mars rovers (NASA)

Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL).Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey. The rover's goals include: investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for future human exploration.

Curiosity's design will serve as the basis for the planned Mars 2020 rover. In December 2012, Curiosity's two-year mission was extended indefinitely. As of March 19, 2017, Curiosity has been on Mars for 1641 sols (1686 total days) since landing on August 6, 2012. (See current status.)

As established by the Mars Exploration Program, the main scientific goals of the MSL mission are to help determine whether Mars could ever have supported life, as well as determining the role of water, and to study the climate and geology of Mars. The mission will also help prepare for human exploration. To contribute to these goals, MSL has eight main scientific objectives:


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