NASA Mars Science Laboratory · Active
The longest-operating Mars rover, exploring Gale Crater and climbing Mount Sharp since August 2012. Curiosity carries a full chemistry laboratory, a rock-vaporising laser and 17 cameras, studying billions of years of Martian geological history layer by layer. Over 13 years on Mars with no end in sight.
Position data refreshes every 6 hours from NASA JPL
Curiosity's current position and full traverse path in Gale Crater, rendered from NASA JPL waypoint data. After landing on the crater floor in August 2012, Curiosity traversed to the base of Mount Sharp and has been ascending its foothills, studying sedimentary layers that record Mars's ancient climate transitions.
Most recent raw images from Curiosity's cameras, fetched from NASA JPL. For the full browsable gallery, see Mars Rover Photos →
Gale Crater is a 154 km-wide impact basin with a 5.5 km-high central mountain — Mount Sharp (officially Aeolis Mons) — whose layered slopes preserve a readable record of billions of years of Martian climate and geology. Each layer of sediment represents a different era, from ancient lake deposits at the base to wind-blown sulphate minerals higher up, capturing Mars's transition from a wetter, warmer world to the cold, dry planet of today. No other accessible site on Mars offers such a deep and continuous geological archive.
Curiosity proved that Gale Crater hosted an ancient freshwater lake system capable of supporting microbial life — the first definitive evidence of a habitable environment beyond Earth. The rover detected complex organic molecules in 3-billion-year-old mudstone, found seasonal methane variations in the atmosphere whose origin (geological or biological) remains one of Mars science's biggest open questions, and identified manganese oxide minerals that indicate past oxygen-rich conditions at the surface.
As Curiosity climbs Mount Sharp, it has documented the transition from clay-bearing lake sediments to sulphate-rich layers — a chemical record of Mars drying out over hundreds of millions of years. The rover's weather station (REMS) has also built the most detailed Mars climate dataset ever assembled, tracking temperature, humidity, UV radiation and dust storms continuously for over a decade.
Since reaching the base of Mount Sharp in September 2014, Curiosity has been methodically ascending through its sedimentary layers. The rover studies each geological unit — clay-rich regions, sulphate deposits, transitional zones — to reconstruct Mars's environmental history. The ascent is ongoing and each new layer reveals a different chapter of the planet's past. The team carefully routes the rover to access the most scientifically valuable outcrops while managing wheel wear on the abrasive terrain.
Unlike Spirit and Opportunity, which relied on solar panels and were eventually killed by dust and darkness, Curiosity is powered by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) that converts heat from plutonium-238 decay into electricity. This gives Curiosity approximately 110 watts of continuous power regardless of dust, seasons or time of day — enabling it to operate through Martian winters and dust storms that would shut down a solar-powered rover. The MMRTG's output gradually decreases over time but remains sufficient for full science operations well beyond 2026.
Chemistry and Camera complex — fires a focused laser that vaporises rock up to 7 metres away, then analyses the plasma with spectrometers to determine chemical composition. Over 900,000 laser shots since landing. Paired with a remote micro-imager for detailed target photography.
Sample Analysis at Mars — the rover's onboard chemistry laboratory, occupying nearly half the payload. Heats drilled rock powder to 1,000°C and analyses the released gases with a mass spectrometer, gas chromatograph and tuneable laser spectrometer. Detected organic molecules and seasonal methane variations.
Chemistry and Mineralogy — an X-ray diffraction instrument that identifies minerals in drilled rock samples to 1% accuracy. CheMin confirmed the presence of clay minerals (smectites) proving long-duration water interaction, and has catalogued the mineral composition of dozens of drill sites across Gale Crater.
Two mast-mounted cameras providing colour images, video and multispectral capability. The left camera has a 34mm focal length (wider field) and the right has 100mm (telephoto). Together they create stereo imagery and can study mineral composition through colour filters.
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station — a weather station measuring air and ground temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed/direction and UV radiation. Has collected over a decade of continuous Mars weather data — the longest-running surface weather record on any other planet.
Radiation Assessment Detector — measures high-energy radiation at the Martian surface from cosmic rays and solar events. RAD data is critical for planning crewed Mars missions, having measured the radiation dose astronauts would receive both during transit and on the surface.
3.0 × 2.7 × 2.2 m — about the size of a small car. The robotic arm extends 2.1 m and carries the drill, APXS, MAHLI and a dust removal tool.
899 kg — the pioneer of the "SUV-class" Mars rover design. Perseverance was built on the same chassis with upgrades, weighing 1,025 kg.
Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) producing ~110 watts at landing, gradually declining. Unlike solar-powered rovers, Curiosity operates through dust storms and Martian winters without power interruption.
Top speed 140 m/hr (0.14 km/hr). Curiosity was the first Mars rover with autonomous hazard-avoidance driving, though Perseverance's upgraded AutoNav system drives significantly faster.
Landed using the revolutionary sky crane system — a rocket-powered descent stage that lowered the rover on cables to a soft wheels-down landing. First use of this technique, later reused for Perseverance.
US$2.5 billion total mission cost. Launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 from Cape Canaveral on 26 November 2011.