In time for Curiosity's one-year anniversary on Mars, which is coming up on August 6, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory released a 2-minute time-lapse video of images taken from the rover's front-facing camera. Shot with a fisheye lens on Curiosity's Hazard-Avoidance Camera, the video shows the rover exploring a brave new world, collecting samples and drilling inside the Red Planet.
For its upcoming one-year anniversary on Aug. 6, we dug into NASA's archives to highlight some of Curiosity's milestones to date.
Nov. 26, 2011: Curiosity embarks on the first leg of its journey: traveling 354 million miles to Mars.
Aug. 6, 2012: It finally arrives, touching ground on Bradbury Landing.
Aug. 9, 2012: Curiosity beams back to Earth a colored 360-degree panorama taken of the Gale Crater landing site.
Feb. 9, 2013: Mars is drilled into for the first time. Curiosity collects a sample from a site named John Klein.
Feb 28, 2013: After a memory glitch, Curiosity switches to a redundant onboard computer and enters safe mode.
March 13, 2013: Curiosity wins South by Southwest's Interactive Award for best social media campaign.
March 18, 2013: Curiosity finds evidence of water-bearing minerals near where it had drilled.
April 25, 2013: Another to add to the resume: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Trophy for Current Achievements is awarded to Curiosity.
May 20, 2013: Curiosity drills into its second spot: Cumberland, collecting a powered sample from the rock interior.
June 5, 2013: The rover wraps up its investigation in the Glenelg area. NASA calls this the "biggest turning point since landing."
June 19, 2013: NASA stitches together a billion pixels' worth of landscape imagery taken from Curiosity.
July 8, 2013: Curiosity heads to its next destination: Mount Sharp.
July 23, 2013: Are we there yet? Curiosity completes its longest drive in a day: 109.7 yards, or 0.06 miles.
Happy anniversary, and keep up the great work. We hope you're not too homesick, Curiosity.
Lots of Love,
People of Earth :P
Lots of Love,
People of Earth :P
