The car-sized robot launched in November 2011 and touched down inside Mars' 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5, 2012. (The landing occurred on Aug. 6 Eastern time, but it was still Aug. 5 in California, where NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages Curiosity's mission, is based.)
Ever since, Curiosity has been helping scientists better understand Mars' past habitability and how the planet has changed over time. For example, the rover's observations have shown that Gale hosted a lake-and-stream system in the ancient past, which may have been capable of supporting Earth-like life for millions of years at a time.
In September 2014, Curiosity reached the base of Mount Sharp, which rises 3.4 miles (5.5 km) into the Red Planet's sky from Gale's center. The six-wheeled robot then began picking its way up the broad, sloping massif, reading the rock layers as it climbed.
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