Mars Science Laboratory
Robotic mission that deployed the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012
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We include updates on Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, Rocker-bogie, Small Deep Space Transponder, Camera, hand lens, and microscope probe, Mount Sharp, Aeolis Palus, N165, Bradbury Landing, Peace Vallis, Jacob Matijevic, Rocknest 3, Experience Curiosity, Vandi Verma, Allen Chen, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer ... and more.
| 2025 |
Mars Science Laboratory
NASA announced Curiosity's discovery of carbonates in the form of crystalline siderite, with one rock containing over 10% of the mineral, along with various other mineral compositions.
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| March 2025 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity discovered long-chain alkanes with up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms in Gale crater mudstone, with the origin of these molecules remaining unknown.
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| October 2024 |
Mars Science Laboratory
The SAM experiment science team announced results from three years of sampling, suggesting the early Martian atmosphere was unlikely to support surface water hospitable to life, due to rapid wetting-drying cycles and high-salinity cryogenic brines.
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| July 2024 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Researchers announced the discovery of elemental pure sulfur on Mars for the first time, found in a rock crushed by the rover.
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| March 2024 |
Curiosity
Discovered long-chain alkanes with up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms in mudstone in Gale Crater, with the origin of these molecules unknown.
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| March 2024 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientific publication revealed Curiosity's discovery of long chain alkanes with up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms in Gale crater's mudstone, with an unknown origin potentially from abiotic or biological sources.
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| February 2024 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity completed its 40th successful drilling, targeting a rock named 'Mineral King' in Gediz Vallis.
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| 2023 |
Rocker-bogie
ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 rover Pragyan adopts the rocker-bogie suspension system, extending the design's use beyond NASA to other international space exploration programs.
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| August 2023 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity explored the upper Gediz Vallis Ridge, capturing a panoramic and 3D rendered view of the area.
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| August 2023 |
Mount Sharp
Curiosity explored the upper Gediz Vallis Ridge, capturing panoramic and 3D rendered views.
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| January 2023 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity Rover viewed and studied the 'Cacao' meteorite on Mars.
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| January 2023 |
Mount Sharp
Curiosity viewed and studied the 'Cacao' meteorite on Mars.
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| 2022 | Appeared in the full-length documentary 'Good Night Oppy', which tells the story of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. |
| October 1 2022 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity Rover began its fourth extended mission, which is set to continue until October 2025.
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| August 6 2022 |
Curiosity
NASA reported a detailed overview of Curiosity's accomplishments over its first ten years of operation.
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| April 2022 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Mars Science Laboratory was renewed for a fourth extended mission, with plans to explore the sulfate-bearing unit.
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| January 17 2022 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists found an unusual carbon isotope signal that might be associated with potential ancient Martian microbial life, though abiotic sources have not been ruled out.
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| November 1 2021 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Astronomers reported a first-of-its-kind detection of organic molecules, including benzoic acid and ammonia, using the rover's SAM instruments.
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| July 3 2021 |
Mars Science Laboratory
The Curiosity rover explored and viewed the 'Rafael Navarro Mountain' area on Mars.
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| June 2021 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists discovered that methane concentration around Curiosity varies by sol, being present only at night, which helped explain previous discrepancies in methane level detection.
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| April 2021 |
Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez
NASA honored his scientific contributions by naming a mountain 'Rafael Navarro Mountain' on Mars in recognition of his work with the Curiosity rover and research on organic compounds.
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| February 19 2021 |
Sky crane
Ingenuity helicopter reported back to NASA via Perseverance's communications systems, confirming its status after the Mars landing.
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| February 19 2021 |
Sky crane
NASA released the first audio recorded on the surface of Mars, captured by Perseverance's on-board microphone, which had survived the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) process and recorded the sound of Martian wind.
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| February 18 2021 |
Sky crane
Perseverance rover successfully landed on the surface of Mars at 20:55 UTC using an advanced sky crane landing system, which included new Terrain-Relative Navigation technology to identify safe landing locations.
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| February 18 2021 |
Allen Chen
Chen narrated the Mars 2020 landing procedures alongside Swati Mohan, successfully landing the Perseverance rover in Jezero crater while managing COVID-19 team protocols.
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| January 28 2021 |
Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez
Died from complications of COVID-19, marking the end of his significant scientific career.
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| 2020 |
Rocker-bogie
Mars 2020 rover Perseverance continues the legacy of the rocker-bogie suspension system, showcasing its ongoing importance in NASA's Mars exploration missions.
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| 2020 |
Sky crane
Mars 2020 mission deployed with an even more precise landing system, reducing the landing ellipse to 7.7 by 6.6 km, improving upon the Curiosity rover's landing precision.
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| 2020 | Featured in the US Air Force documentary 'Science in the Extremes' series 3, episode 6, explaining her work on Mars' surface. |
| August 29 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
NASA released high-resolution images and videos captured by Curiosity, including footage of dust devils and detailed Martian terrain.
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| July 30 2020 |
Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator
MMRTG (F-2 model built by Teledyne Energy Systems and Aerojet Rocketdyne) successfully launched with the Mars 2020 mission to power the Perseverance rover, with a potential lifespan of up to 17 years.
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| April 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists began operating the Curiosity rover remotely from their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| February 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists reported the detection of thiophene organic molecules by the Curiosity rover on Mars, with uncertainty about their biological or non-biological origin.
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| February 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists reported the detection of thiophene organic molecules by the Curiosity rover on Mars.
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| February 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity detected thiophene organic molecules on Mars, with scientists noting the potential significance of these molecules typically associated with biological processes on Earth.
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| January 2020 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Scientists presented a comparative report of the Curiosity rover's status and achievements from its 2012 landing to 2020, highlighting its seven-year journey on Mars.
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| October 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Evidence of a potential ancient salty lake was discovered in Gale crater, with magnesium sulfate deposits suggesting past evaporation processes on Mount Sharp.
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| October 1 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity rover began its third extended mission on its 2544th sol on Mars, uncovering evidence of a wide ancient basin in Gale crater that may have contained a salty lake through magnesium sulfate deposits.
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| October 1 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
The Curiosity rover began its third extended mission on its 2544th sol on Mars, marking a significant continuation of its scientific exploration.
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| June 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
Curiosity detected the highest levels of methane gas (21 parts per billion) during its study of the clay-bearing unit, a significant deviation from typical background readings.
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| April 11 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
NASA announced Curiosity drilled into a 'clay-bearing unit', considered a major milestone in its journey up Mount Sharp.
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| April 11 2019 |
Mount Sharp
NASA announced Curiosity's drilling and close study of a 'clay-bearing unit', considered a major milestone in the rover's journey up Mount Sharp.
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| February 1 2019 |
Mars Science Laboratory
NASA scientists determined the density of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater for the first time, helping understand the mountain's formation.
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| February 1 2019 |
Mount Sharp
NASA scientists used Curiosity rover to determine the density of Mount Sharp for the first time, providing a clearer understanding of the mountain's formation process.
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| 2018 |
Experience Curiosity
The Experience Curiosity web application was ported from the Blend4Web framework to the Verge3D framework.
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| 2018 | Subject of a documentary by Finnish director Minna Långström titled 'The Other Side of Mars', focusing on her work with the Mars rover Curiosity. |
| 2018 |
Curiosity
Drill samples from 2015 uncovered organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3 billion-year-old rock samples in Gale crater.
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| October 3 2018 |
Mars Science Laboratory
JPL began operating Curiosity on its backup computer (Side-A) to continue storing science and engineering data.
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| September 15 2018 |
Mars Science Laboratory
A glitch in Curiosity's active computer (Side-B) prevented the rover from storing science and key engineering data.
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| June 25 2018 |
Allen Chen
Published research paper 'The Mars 2020 Entry, Descent, and Landing System' in AIAA Aviation, detailing critical technical insights into the Mars rover mission landing system.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Mount Sharp, Allen Chen, Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory, Experience Curiosity, Curiosity (rover), Sky crane (landing system), Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, Rocker-bogie & Vandi Verma, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.