When was curiosity launched

For eight years, Curiosity has roamed the surface of the red planet. The car-sized rover journeyed to Mars to answer one very important scientific question: Was the Martian environment ever habitable?

The roaming rover soon discovered mineral and chemical evidence of past habitable Martian environments. Curiosity, which launched on Nov. It has been on the red planet for over 2, Sols Martian day , taken more than , raw images and traveled over 14 miles on the surface of Mars.

While most people know it as Curiosity, this Martian rover also goes by another, more technical name: The Mars Science Laboratory. Since its official name is quite long, it is often just referred to by its common name, Curiosity. In fact, NASA uses the names interchangeably, although it should be noted that the mission itself is the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Curiosity is equipped with a radioisotope power system.

According to NASA, this power source has exceeded its required operational lifespan, which was at least one Martian year, or Earth days.

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The ellipse superimposed on this image indicates the intended landing area, The portion of the crater within the landing area has an alluvial fan likely formed by water-carried sediments. The lower layers of the nearby mountain - within driving distance for Curiosity - contain minerals indicating a wet history. The spacecraft's backshell carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing of MSL's rover, Curiosity.

A closeup of Curiosity's "head" atop the remote sensing mast. Instruments on the mast include two science instruments for studying the rover's surroundings and two stereo navigation cameras for use in driving the rover and planning rover activities.

The circle in the white box is the laser and telescope of an instrument named Chemistry and Camera, or ChemCam. The instrument can pulse its laser at a rock up to about 7 meters 23 feet away and determine the rock's composition by examining the resulting spark with the telescope and spectrometers. Just below that circle is the square opening for a wide-angle camera that is paired with a telephoto camera the smaller square opening to the left in the rover's Mast Camera, or Mastcam, which can take high-definition, full-color video with both "eyes.

Farther outward from each of the Mastcam cameras are circular lens openings for the rover's stereo navigation camera and its backup twin. At the time, Curiosity was inside a space simulation chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, for testing under thermal conditions like those the rover will experience on the surface of Mars.

The front of the rover is toward the right in this image. On the left is the outer cover for the mission's nuclear power source, a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. At far right is the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The light-colored hexagonal object in the top left quadrant of the mosaic is the high-gain antenna, which is about 10 inches 25 centimeters across. The imager will take extreme close-up pictures of the planet's rocks and soil, as well as any ice it may find there.

Preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The testing during March in a foot-diameter 7. In this March 8, , image, Curiosity is fully assembled with all primary flight hardware and instruments. The test chamber's door is still open. After the door is closed, a near-vacuum environment can be established, and the chamber walls flooded with liquid nitrogen for chilling to minus degrees Celsius minus degrees Fahrenheit.

A bank of powerful lamps simulates sunshine on Mars. The technician in the picture is using a wand to map the solar simulation intensities at different locations in the chamber just prior to the start of the testing. The MMRTG will generate the power needed for the mission from the natural decay of plutonium, a non-weapons-grade form of the radioisotope. Heat given off by this natural decay will provide constant power through the day and night during all seasons.