Mars Curiosity rover takes a selfie to mark its first Martian year
On Tuesday, the Mars Curiosity will complete its first Martian year — or 687 Earth days. To celebrate the occasion, NASA/JPL shared a self-portrait of the rover comprised of dozens of component images.
The Curiosity lived up to its name over the course of the Martian year: Among its numerous important findings, the rover discovered an ancient riverbed and drilled to find out if it could have ever held life (the answer was yes); drilled and collected samples from Windjana, a sandstone site; and measured heavy-versus-light variants of elements in the atmosphere.
Now entering Year 2 on the Red Planet, the Curiosity is making its way to the west, with a planned stop at Mount Sharp, where the team back here on Earth hopes it will find evidence of habitability and how Martian environments evolved. Watch the video below to find out more about the Curiosity's first Martian year. --Catherine Garcia
The Week
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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