Curiosity was sent to the Red Planet in November 2011 and, after landing in the 154 km wide Gale Crater, embarked on a mission for at least one Martian year, the equivalent of 687 Earth days.

The primary goal of the $ 2.5 billion Curiosity mission, known as the Mars Science Laboratory, was to assess the possibility of ever living life on Mars.

Since its arrival on the Red Planet, the rover has traveled more than 14 miles (23 km), drilling its surface along the way, and thus obtained 26 rock samples and six soil samples.

The crater was found to contain a potentially habitable system of lakes and streams in the ancient past, possibly millions of years ago. Scientists were able to get a closer look at the structure of the planet’s surface. This led to the conclusion that ancient Mars was once really suitable for life.

The Curiosity mission is led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, USA, and is attended by nearly 500 scientists from the United States and around the world. Curiosity will soon be joined by another rover, Perseverance, which was sent to Mars on July 30, 2020.