rekordy: Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory

Evidence: 91 • authority: 72

Curiosity is a Mars rover that is exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Launched in 2011 and landed the following year, the car-sized rover continues to operate more than a decade after its original two-year mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 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. Mission goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology, an assessme…

Evidence: 91 • authority: 72

The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover, Curiosity, were launched from Earth on 26 November 2011. As of October 17, 2026, Curiosity has been in Gale Crater on the planet Mars for 5047 sols (5185 total days; 14 years, 72 days) since landing on 6 August 2012. (See Current status.)

Evidence: 54 • authority: 88

Gale crater: the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Rover Landing Site. Abstract Gale crater formed from an impact on Mars ∼3.6 billion years ago. It hosts a central mound nearly 100 km wide and ∼5 km high, consisting of layered rocks with a variety of textures and spectral properties. The oldest exposed layers contain variably hydrated sulphates and smectite clay minerals, implying an aqueous origin, whereas the younger layers higher on the mound are covered by a mantle of dust. Fluvial channels carved into the crater walls and the lower mound indicate that surface liquids were present during and after deposition of the mound material. Numerous hypotheses have been advocated for the origin…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 92

Ultraviolet and biological effective dose observations at Gale Crater, Mars.. The incident ultraviolet (UV) irradiance on the surface of Mars is strongly sterilizing and plays a critical role in atmospheric and near-surface photochemistry. The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument, which includes the first UV sensor sent to Mars on board the Curiosity rover, has been measuring the UV irradiance at Gale Crater since 2012, providing ground-truth data regarding seasonal and short-term variability of the UV radiation at the surface of another planet. Here, we analyze the REMS UV measurements for a period of >5 Martian years to retrieve biological effective doses and other UV…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 72

Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at 5.4°S 137.8°E / -5.4; 137.8 in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australia, who observed Mars in the late 19th century. Aeolis Mons, also known as Mount Sharp, is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high. Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons. Peace Vallis, a nearby outflow channel, 'flows' down from the hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by f…

Evidence: 40 • authority: 72

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars's habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a human mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.

Evidence: 36 • authority: 88

Characterization of clasts in the Glen Torridon region of Gale crater observed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover. Granule- to cobble- sized clasts in the Glen Torridon region of Gale crater on Mars were studied using data captured by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover between sols 2302 and 2593. The morphology and composition of clasts have the potential to reveal the nature and extent of erosional processes acting in a region. In this study, measurements of shape, size, texture and element abundance of unconsolidated clasts within lower Glen Torridon were compiled. Eight primary clast types were identified, all of which are sedimentary and can be compositionally li…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 88

Chlorine in Gale Crater, Mars: comparing data from DAN and APXS instruments onboard the Curiosity rover. <p><span>The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment onboard the MSL Curiosity rover performs active neutron measurements at the rover&amp;#8217;s stops. It produces short pulses of high-energy neutrons and observes the time profile of slowed down neutrons leaking from the subsurface. Due to neutrons&amp;#8217; high penetrating power it is sensitive to the abundance of neutron moderating elements (mostly hydrogen) and neutron capturing elements (most significant are chlorine and iron) in approximately top 60 cm of the subsurface under the rover, a few tons of matter in total. The DAN…

Evidence: 34 • authority: 88

Geological mapping of North-West Mount Sharp region (Gale crater, Mars) and connections with data from Curiosity rover. The exploration of Gale Crater on Mars has returned a great amount of data, offering insights into the planet's geological history. However, to fully understand its evolution, comprehensive analysis at various scales is essential. This study focuses on geological mapping, stratigraphy and structural analysis transitioning from a regional scale to a local scale to establish the evolution of Gale Crater. The primary goal of this research is to clarify the structural and stratigraphic relationships among the sedimentary layers within the North-West part of Gale Crater, provid…

Evidence: 31 • authority: 72

A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter. As of May 2021, there have been six successful robotically operated Mars rovers; the first five, managed by the American NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, were (by date of Mars…

Evidence: 29 • authority: 80

GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE MSL CURIOSITY ROVER EXTENDED MISSION TRAVERSE OF AEOLIS MONS, GALE CRATER, MARS

Evidence: 29 • authority: 92

Oxygen isotopic evidence that Gale crater, Mars, was home to an Early Hesperian water reservoir that underwent significant evaporation.. Simultaneous measurements of HDO, H 2 18 O, and H 2 16 O in water evolved during pyrolysis of powdered rock samples acquired by the Curiosity rover within Gale crater's clay-bearing units indicate extreme and variable heavy-isotope enrichments averaging ~4.5 times the D/H ratio and ~1.03 times the 18 O/ 16 O ratio of terrestrial seawater. These enrichments are recorded in water desorbed from mineral surfaces and evolved from poorly crystalline phases, hydrated salts, jarosite, and clays. All evolved waters are deuterium-enriched relative to common terrestr…