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Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)
Curiosity

A car-sized rover lowered on cables to Gale Crater

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NASA's Curiosity rover, carried by the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, landed in Gale Crater on 5 August 2012 (Pacific time) after a flight of about 36 weeks. It was the largest rover sent to Mars at the time, and it touched down by being lowered on cables from a rocket-powered descent stage, a manoeuvre called the sky crane.
2 video perspectives
- Curiosity’s Mars Landing: Sky Crane, Touchdown and First Images
  
  NASA's Curiosity rover, carried by the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, landed on Mars after a 36-week flight.
  
  Published 6 Aug 2012
- Curiosity at 14: Keeping a Mars Rover Running by Remote Control
  
  Curiosity was built for a mission of about two years and has been on Mars for fourteen.
  
  Published 1 Nov 2026