A year long Curiosity

Just a few quick thoughts.  This week marks the one year anniversary of the Mars Science Laboratory Rover, Curiosity, landing in Gale Crater on the surface of Mars.  A year ago we deposited a ton of nuclear-powered robot on the surface of another world. 

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Since then it is have been roving, scooping, dusting, vaporizing rocks, and just sciencing the heck out of the red planet.  36,700 images, 76,000 rock-zapping laser shots, and 1.6 kilometers driven so far.  It still has about an 8 km drive to go to get to the lower layers of the 5.5 km tall Mt. Sharp.  Just in it’s first year Curiosity has already a world that looks downright “habitable” in the distant past – spectacularly finding the remains of a pebbled riverbed.

NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / PSI

So happy “birthday” to the MSL Rover Curiosity – may there be many more rocks to bother in your future.