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Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

Part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, at the time of launch, Curiosity was the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars at that time.

Active Mission

Part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, Curiosity, was the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars when it launched in 2011. Curiosity set out to answer the question: Did Mars ever have the right environmental conditions to support small life forms called microbes? Early in its mission, Curiosity's scientific tools found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments on Mars. It continues to explore the rock record from a time when Mars could have been home to microbial life.

Type

Rover

Launch / Landing

Nov. 26, 2011 / Aug. 6, 2012

Target

Mars

Objective

Determine if Mars was ever able to support microbial life
Featured Story

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Sees Martian ‘Spiderwebs’ Up Close

For about six months, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low…

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👁 Image
NASA STUDY

‘Non-Biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics’

In a new study, researchers say that non-biological sources they considered could not fully account for the abundance of organic compounds in a sample collected on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover. A Feb. 4 report in the journal Astrobiology analyzed the discovery — the largest organic compounds found on Mars, hypothesized to possibly be fragments of fatty acids preserved in the ancient mudstone in Gale Crater.

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👁 The image features a rover with its robotic arm and various instruments visible on a rocky, reddish-brown terrain. In the background is a barren landscape with scattered rocks and hills under a hazy sky. Overlaying the left side of the image is a semi-transparent panel with the title "Large Organics on Mars" in bold black letters. Below the title, three molecular chains are displayed, consisting of black spheres representing carbon atoms and white spheres representing hydrogen atoms. Labels indicate "carbon" as the black spheres and "hydrogen" as the white spheres. A faint circular blur appears in the background of the panel.
This graphic shows the long-chain organic molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These are the largest organic molecules discovered on Mars to date. They were detected in a drilled rock sample called “Cumberland” that was analyzed by the Sample Analysis at Mars lab inside the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover. The rover, whose selfie is on the right side of the image, has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012. An image of the Cumberland drill hole is faintly visible in the background of the molecule chains.
NASA/Dan Gallagher

meet curiosity

Size

About the size of a small SUV — 10 feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall), not including the arm.

Mass/weight

1,982 lbs (899 kg) in Earth gravity

743 lbs (337 kg) in Mars gravity

Features

Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras

A 3D model of the Mars Curiosity Rover.
NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)

FEATURE IMAGE

Curiosity’s 42 Drill Holes

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has collected 42 powderized rock samples with the drill on the end of its robotic arm. This grid shows all 42 holes made by the drill when collecting the samples.

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Featured Video

Landing Site: Gale Crater

Curiosity explores Gale Crater and acquires rock, soil, and air samples for onboard analysis. The car-size rover is about as tall as a basketball player and uses a 7 foot-long arm to place tools close to rocks selected for study. Curiosity's large size allows it to carry an advanced kit of 10 science instruments. It has tools including 17 cameras, a laser to vaporize and study small pinpoint spots of rocks at a distance, and a drill to collect powdered rock samples. It hunts for special rocks that formed in water and/or have signs of organics.

The Curiosity rover has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life. Take a tour of its landing site, Gale Crater. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Science

Curiosity is seeking evidence of organics, the chemical building blocks of life.

Raw Images

View raw images sent back by Curiosity from its explorations on Mars.

Resources

Visit the one-stop-shop for all Curiosity media.

Drag your mouse or move your phone to explore this 360-degree panorama provided by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover.

featured image

Curiosity Lights Up ‘Nevado Sajama’ at Night

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used LED lights on the end of its robotic arm to create this rare nighttime view of the Red Planet’s surface on Dec. 6, 2025, the 4,740th Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission. The LED lights are part of the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, a camera on the end of Curiosity’s robotic arm. The image was captured by the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on the rover’s mast, or “head.”
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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News and Features

5 Min Read

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Sees Martian ‘Spiderwebs’ Up Close

Article
2 Min Read

NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics

Blog
1 Min Read

Curiosity Sends Holiday Postcard from Mars

Image Article