Next week will mark the one-year (Earth year) anniversary of Mars rover Curiosity’s Mars landing. The rover has performed admirably, and all of its instruments have been successfully tested on the surface of the red planet. It has also, in one short year, managed to fulfill its primary mission goal by determining that Mars once had an environment compatible with primitive life.
In celebration of the rover’s milestone, NASA today released a new video showcasing the highlights of Curiosity’s eventful year. The two-minute video runs through 548 pictures taken by the rover’s hazard avoidance camera, situated on the front of the rover.
Curiosity can be seen near the beginning of the video testing its mobility before scooping its first soil sample at around 16 seconds. Other important events in the rover’s first year can be seen throughout the video, such as its first rock drilling. At the end of the video, Curiosity can be seen setting off on its current journey, a months-long, five-mile trip to a Martian mountain named Mount Sharp.