Space Now!

Curious for an Update?

04-09-12

Written by Megan

Curiosity has now been on the surface of Mars for the last month, and has been having a busy time!

 

At the moment Curiosity is on its way towards an area called Glenelg, where it may begin testing its drill. Glenelg is eastwards from the landing site, and about 500 metres away.

 

As Curiosity has a maximum speed of only four centimetres per second, this journey is being undertaken in stages, over many days. It has now been on the surface of Mars for the last month, and has been having a busy time!

Straight after landing, all of Curiosity's systems needed to be checked. This involved moving all motors individually, including 'wiggling' each of its six wheels, before any full driving movement could be attempted.

It's just as important for the mission that Curiosity's cameras are working properly, so we have already received many high quality photos of the Martian surface, in colour as well as black and white.

 

These photos, along with results from the experiments on board Curiosity, will help scientists understand more about the history of Mars, and whether the environment there has ever been suitable for life as we know it.

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Our Pinterest page on MSL will keep you updated with the latest images

 

To find out more about MSL visit NASAs mission pages