Diligent Mars photographer: Five year anniversary of Curiosity rover

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Curiosity, NASA's robotic rover on Mars, on August 5th marked five years since first landing on the planet.

Developed by NASA as part of its Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL), Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26th, 2011. As of this year, total investment on the program amounts to 2.5 billion US dollars.

The car-sized robot is responsible for probing Mars' Gale Crater, which scientists have assumed to be a dry lake estimated to be between 3.5 to 3.8 billion years old, and which could have supported microbial life.

Gale Crater /NASA Photo

Drill sites at Gale Crater /NASA Photo

"I feel like we're arriving at a second conclusion from the mission that's just as powerful as the first, which is that habitable environments persisted on Mars for at least millions of years," Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada told reporters.

Since arriving on the planet on August 6th, 2012, the Mars photographer has shot and transmitted more than 250,000 images of the Red Planet, and collected more than ten rock samples that have been taken back to Earth for research.

NASA initially only intended for Curiosity to stay on Mars for two years, but after it fulfilled its tasks successfully, NASA decided to leave it there for a longer period of time.

NASA Photo

Despite experiencing some technical difficulties and software malfunctions at the beginning, Curiosity quickly found ways to adjust to normal conditions.

The rover has been exploring the slopes for Mount Sharp since September in 2014, a location that scientists believe could have great significance in revealing how Mars was formed.

Mount Sharp /NASA Photo

Traverse map showing the routes Curiosity has taken. /NASA Photo

The rover has climbed about 600 vertical feet (180 meters), drilling, sampling, and studying rocks that may help scientists understand part of the geological division called the Murray Formation.

However, Curiosity has far outlasted its warranty and the continuous five-year journey has taken its toll on the rover's tires, with scientists discovering holes and cracks in them.

Curiosity has traveled 10.57 miles (17 kilometers) in total, and mission control is choosing its future routes carefully so as to avoid further damage to its tires. NASA says Curiosity is still 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) away from its next destination.

NASA Photo