LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Curiosity rover has clocked 4,000 days on Mars since it landed on the Red Planet in August 2012, according to NASA.
Since setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, the rover remains busy conducting exciting science. It recently drilled its 39th sample then dropped the pulverized rock into its belly for detailed analysis.
To study whether ancient Mars had the conditions to support microbial life, the rover has been gradually ascending the base of five-kilometer-tall Mount Sharp, whose layers formed in different periods of Martian history and offer a record of how the planet's climate changed over time, according to NASA.
Launched on Nov. 26, 2011, Curiosity is the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars. ■
