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Deployment

Curiosity Rover at Mars

NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover (landed 2012-08-06, operating). Drives with onboard AutoNav (think-while-driving terrain assessment and autonomous hazard avoidance); ground operators select daily targets and routes, the rover handles the traverse. Autonomous navigation, NOT autonomous mission planning.

Curiosity Rover by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory · Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verified

Track Curiosity Rover at Mars

Recent coverage

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Machine-readable surfaces

NASA Curiosity rover remains active in Gale Crater since landing August 6 2012. Currently climbing Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), investigating layered sulfate units and ancient habitable environments. Approximately sol 4900+ as of June 2026. Recently completed 47th drill hole at Campo Marte (May 2026) and delivered sample to CheMin and SAM instruments. Coordinated atmospheric observations with Psyche spacecraft Mars flyby. Captured nighttime LED image of Nevado Sajama December 2025. Mission status: active. Power and instruments healthy.

Key facts

Mission
Mars Science Laboratory
Site
Gale Crater
Status
Operating as of 2026; drives with onboard AutoNav hazard avoidance, ground-selected targets

Safety record

No incidents on record for Curiosity Rover at Mars.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 3 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-07-10
Model
Curiosity Rover
Company
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Location
Mars
Status
operational
Operator type
maker operated
First seen
2012-08-06
ID
103f94bb-87b4-4bdc-9ecc-8d0cf7571cf8

Timeline

  1. Aug 2012
    First recorded
    Curiosity Rover first documented operating at Mars.
  2. Aug 2012
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    field updated
    sources: source added → NASA Science Blog: Curiosity Blog: Goodbye Campo Marte
  4. Jul 2026
    Current status: operational, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Curiosity Rover operates in Mars. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (3)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_(rover)
  2. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/
  3. https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4908-4912-goodbye-campo-marte-its-been-fun/
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-10

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: production

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: space

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Curiosity Rover at Mars.

Common questions

What is the Curiosity Rover deployment at Mars?
Curiosity Rover, built by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is recorded as a deployment at Mars on the DEPLOY registry. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Curiosity Rover at Mars?
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the manufacturer of Curiosity Rover, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Curiosity Rover deployment at Mars go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting August 6, 2012 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the Curiosity Rover deployment at Mars?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

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