A year on Mars: Curiosity's 6 best pictures

Happy anniversary! NASA's Curiosity rover celebrated one full year on Mars yesterday. Since landing safely on the morning of Aug. 6, 2012, the rover has crawled the not-exactly-continental distance of 1.6 kilometers (almost exactly one mile) across the planet's desolate surface.

As part of the $2.5 billion mission, Curiosity searched for the presence of life, explored a portion of the 96-mile-wide Gale Crater, and became the first rover to drill on another planet. In its second year, Curiosity is headed toward Mount Sharp, a three-mile-high formation whose layers scientists believe hold secrets of Mars' geological history.

In honor of Curiosity's year on the Red Planet — and the more than 71,000 images it has recorded and sent back to NASA — we've compiled some of space robot's best photos, from the stunning landscapes to those charming selfies.

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