News Planetary Science

Curiosity lands safely on Mars

Rover sets down in complex maneuver

By Nadia Drake

- More than 2 years ago

PASADENA, Calif. — Curiosity has phoned home from the dusty surface of Mars.

CURIOSITY’S SHADOW Minutes after landing, Curiosity sent an image back to Earth of its own shadow on the Martian surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Radio signals and images received at 10:32 p.m. PDT on August 5 by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirm that the rover has reached Mars’ Gale Crater, Curiosity’s intended destination after an 8.5-month