How JPL Keeps the 13-Year-Old Curiosity Rover Doing Science

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:45:10 +0000

In the cold, radiation-blasted desert of Gale Crater on Mars, a machine roughly the size of a small car is doing something it was never supposed to do for this long. It has been thirteen years since NASA’s Curiosity rover touched down on the Red Planet, and despite the harsh environment and the inevitable decay of its components, it continues to churn out groundbreaking science. For those of us following from Earth—and particularly for the space-enthusiastic audience in India that celebrated the longevity of our own Mangalyaan—the story of Curiosity is a masterclass in resilient engineering and the power of remote software updates.

Space Technology on NV Trends

How JPL Keeps the 13-Year-Old Curiosity Rover Doing Science