Opens profile photo
Follow
Click to Follow MarsCuriosity
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Your friendly neighborhood NASA Mars rover. Exploring the Red Planet since 2012. Team headquartered at
@NASAJPL
🚀 (Verification: nasa.gov/socialmedia)
Gale Crater, Marsmars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/Joined July 2008
52 Following
4.2M Followers

Curiosity Rover’s Tweets

Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Just can't wait to get on that road again 🎵 I'm on the move and heading toward a new area to do some science – but all of these large rocks and sand make it slippery, so I'm taking my time. Of course, with any road trip, I'll look for fascinating stops along the way.
A black-and-white image taken by the Curiosity Mars rover shows the Martian surface covered in rocks and sand. In the horizon are hazy hillsides and jutting rocks. In the foreground are rover tire tracks coming from the left and right of the image and stopping toward the center. The surface is sandy and appears soft with some smaller rocks and pebbles around the tire tracks.
53
1,705
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I just reached a milestone only surpassed by Opportunity: 30 km on Mars ✅ I've explored so much in my 10-plus-year trek through Gale Crater, but there are many more rocks to sample and analyze! Retrace my tracks with this interactive map: go.nasa.gov/3EtmSCi
A screenshot of Curiosity's interactive map shows an aerial view of the surface of Mars. Black toolbars line the top and left of the image, and the title reads "Curiosity's Location, Sol 3843 | Distance Driven 18.64 miles / 30 km." The areas of Mars that the rover has explored are shown in dusty red, while the areas outside of that are black-and-white. A white line illustrates the path of the Curiosity rover - starting from the top-right and moving toward the center-left before crossing back to the right and zigzagging toward the bottom. At the end of the line, a blue upside-down tear-drop icon represents where the Curiosity rover is currently positioned on Mars. A scale at the bottom shows the approximate distance illustrated by the map.
200
11.3K
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
It’s me. Hi! I just drilled a new rock. I sampled a rock my team named after Ubajara, a national park in Brazil. Now, I’m working hard with my SAM instrument, which bakes rock powder at high temps to measure the compositions of gases that come off the rock as it gets hotter.
A rectangular black-and-white photo shows the robotic drilling arm of the Curiosity Mars rover hovering over a rock before it takes a sample. The image is curved and shows rocks and sand covering the Martian surface. A shadow the robotic arm and part of the rover are shown in the center and bottom part of the image. The robotic drilling arm is boxy with tubes sticking out from the left and right edges of it and the bottom part is a drill.
89
2,615
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Just doing some light reading 📖 My team thinks this uniquely-shaped pebble resembles an open book with pages blowing in the wind. (Though at only an inch across, it would be a teeny tiny book...)
A copper-colored image shows a Martian pebble (about the size of an inch), which resembles an open book with a single portion sticking straight up. Around the book-shaped rock are smaller pebbles and a sandy surface. A shadow is cast over the rock from the Curiosity Mars rover.
96
1,894
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I’ve shared a few of these strangely-shaped, eroded rocks before, like these finger-like rocks that I spotted on Mount Sharp in May 2022.
Quote Tweet
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Fingerling…rocks? I spotted these odd shapes while I was exploring. They likely formed billions of years ago when groundwater moved through, leaving minerals behind. In the Martian atmosphere, winds eroded the softer parts and left the harder bits behind. go.nasa.gov/3xy9Gr9
Image
15
783
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I spy with my Mastcam ... shark teeth?? Well, not exactly. When ancient groundwater flowed here on Mars, it carried minerals that hardened the rock in some places more than others. Winds later eroded the rock, leaving behind these funky shapes.
A black-and-white image shows the Martian landscape as seen by the Curiosity rover. Closer to the foreground are large, oblong-shaped rocks that contain spiky nodules lining the center of each. Off into the background are more oblong rocks that pile up further into the horizon. The rocks are all surrounded by soft sand on the Martian surface.
A circular black-and-white image taken by Curiosity rover's ChemCam shows a closer look at the spiky nodules on an otherwise smooth rock. The spikes run along a curved line through the center of the rock. A few spikes are missing from the line and the image has a slight blur around the outer edges. In the background are blurred rocks and Martian sand.
90
2,922
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I like to move it, move it 🎵 My team recently sent me a major software update, and after a few days offline to take it all in, I’m ready to keep exploring – only now with less idling and less wheel wear! go.nasa.gov/3KCeDpp
A color-corrected image taken by the Curiosity rover shows a large, rocky hillside on Mars. This landscape contains 146 images that were stitched together. The rocky hillside, which is nicknamed Bolivar, is a reddish-copper color and extends toward the sky. The copper colored and rocky ground is covered in sandy and rover tracks move toward the front of the image. A silver piece of the rover, which looks similar to a stove pipe, can be seen toward the right outer edges of the image and one of the rover's dust-covered wheels is toward the bottom of the image.
127
5,270
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
🌻 Spring has sprung in Earth's Northern Hemisphere - and here on Mars, it’s also time for a change. After 29 drives, 5 drill attempts, and 4 Mastcam 360-degree panoramas, I'm leaving the Marker Band region to pave a new path up Mount Sharp. go.nasa.gov/40mRr54
A black-and-white image from the Curiosity Mars rover is shown. It depicts sandy ripples and some rocky outcrops along the horizon and background with a slight fish-eye lens bend to the edges as the boxy, mechanical shadow of the rover looms in the center foreground. Along the very bottom right corner you can see a piece of the rover's tire.
44
1,291
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Well, this is a first... 😍 As I watched the sunset last month, I captured something spectacular: My team says these are some of the most clearly visible images of sun rays we've ever seen on Mars!
A panoramic image captured by the Curiosity Mars rover. The dark horizon appears as a jagged sliver along the bottom of the image with the gray Martian sky above. Taken at twilight, the image displays faint white, green, and pink-hued “sun rays” shining through clouds at sunset. The varying light and dark beams radiate from the center of the image upward and outward from the horizon. This panorama was stitched together from 28 images sent to Earth.
91
5,800
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Did I do that? 😳 While I was sampling a rock called Tapo Caparo, it fractured into pieces! But don't worry: I was still able to collect enough for analysis, and now, my CheMin and SAM instruments can get to work. go.nasa.gov/3EKNWwC
Martian rock is shown in a color-corrected photo. Toward the right-center of the rock is a drill hole done by the Curiosity rover. The hole is grayish in color and has Martian dust around it. The rock is thin-shaped and appeared to fracture during the drilling process.
116
3,239
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
As I climb up Mt. Sharp, I'm exploring layers of the Martian timeline. Currently, I'm in the "Marker Band." Up ahead, I can see something like a landslide, so I'm hoping to get a closer look at some "younger" material later this year. Still curious? -->
mars.nasa.gov
NASA's Curiosity Finds Surprise Clues to Mars' Watery Past
Among other discoveries made by the rover, rippled rock textures suggest lakes existed in a region of ancient Mars that scientists expected to be drier.
6
589
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Rock. Rock. Rock. Rock. Rock. Rock. METEORITE! It's not uncommon to find meteorites on Mars - in fact, I've done it a few times! (see 🧵) But a change in scenery's always nice. This one's about a foot wide and made of iron-nickel. We're calling it "Cacao."
This composite image shows Curiosity's view of its Martian workspace. A large rock is centered between shadows the rover cast onto the surface. Curiosity's "head" is to the right of the rock, and its arm is to the left. The rock itself is roughly a foot in diameter and mostly round, with divots across its rough surface. It is gray/silver. Mars dirt has settled on portions of it. In the rest of the image, the light red Martian surface is sprinkled with smaller rocks and pebbles.
188
6,975
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
CheMin at cha! This instrument is one of the many tools I use to learn about Mars' ancient past.😎
Quote Tweet
NASA Ames
@NASAAmes
Curious about life on Mars? @MarsCuriosity uses our Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, to search for preserved clues about the Red Planet's past and determine if it could have once supported life. Learn how: go.nasa.gov/3XjLe8S
Animation of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, Curiosity on the surface of Mars. This gif provides a close up of the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin. Credit: NASA
GIF
7
662
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump - look at us go! 😉 Have a wonderful holiday season, Earthlings!
Quote Tweet
Square profile picture
NASA JPL
@NASAJPL
You know Dasher and Dancer ...and Spirit and Opportunity? Looks like Santa wanted some rovers to pull his sleigh this year instead of reindeer! Have some fun this holiday season with @NASA coloring pages: go.nasa.gov/3BSdFSx From our rover family to yours, happy holidays!
Image
28
1,324
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
🎶 Starships were meant to fly 🎶 Go #Artemis! You're paving a path forward in our shared mission of space exploration.
Quote Tweet
Square profile picture
NASA
@NASA
We are going. For the first time, the @NASA_SLS rocket and @NASA_Orion fly together. #Artemis I begins a new chapter in human lunar exploration.
Embedded video
0:48
5.4M views
34
2,386
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I have arrived! 🎉 After a trek through a sand-lined pass, I’m finally in a part of Mount Sharp enriched with salty minerals. I've already gotten a taste of this salty area, which scientists on my team believe may have formed as Mars' climate dried out. go.nasa.gov/3TRuPXd
A black background is the canvas for this image. On top of it is a mosaic of images captured by the Curiosity Mars rover of a Martian landscape. The stitched-together images leave boxy cutouts all over the black background. The reddish-brown landscape shows sand ripples that jut out over pointed and smooth rocks. To the right is a layered, rocky hill that flows down toward the center of the image into a flat, rocky expanse. Further into the landscape, in the far background, are smaller hills of the same layered-looking rock.
93
4,074
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I landed in Gale Crater, and I’ve been exploring the foothills of Mount Sharp within it. It’s been a journey. How far up have I climbed Mount Sharp?
  • 230 feet (70 meters)
    24.4%
  • 1,500 feet (457 meters)
    34.4%
  • 2,050 feet (625 meters)
    27.8%
  • 2,900 feet (884 meters)
    13.4%
4,746 votesFinal results
12
285
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Pop-Landiversary Quiz! 🎉 I’ve hit quite a few milestones in this decade. Let's see who's been paying attention: How many miles have I trekked on Mars?
  • 5 miles (8 km)
    5.3%
  • 12 miles (19 km)
    13.4%
  • 18 miles (29 km)
    39.7%
  • 30 miles (48 km)
    41.6%
7,086 votesFinal results
34
485
Show this thread
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
From one space explorer to another 👩‍🚀 Thank you,
@astro_watkins
, for this amazing message - and for your help on my team! As you said, we accomplish the impossible on a daily (or in my case sol-y) basis, and I’m so excited to keep exploring this planet in the name of science.
Embedded video
1:29
140K views
From
NASA Astronauts
15
912
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
When I landed on Mars 10 years ago, I aimed to answer an important question: Could Mars have supported ancient life? After some careful analysis, the scientists on my team say yes! So, what does that mean? Hear more about that from my Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman.
Embedded video
3:41
73K views
From
NASA JPL
33
1,304
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Happy 10-year landiversary to me! It’s been a decade of discoveries. I’ve explored Gale Crater and Mount Sharp, analyzed rock samples, and studied the Martian clouds and sky. In the years ahead, I’ll study a region rich in salty minerals called sulfates.
mars.nasa.gov
10 Years Since Landing, NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Still Has Drive
Despite signs of wear, the intrepid spacecraft is about to start an exciting new chapter of its mission as it climbs a Martian mountain.
87
2,698
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
A celebration for little ‘ol me? 😊 I’ve done a lot of exploring these last 10 years on Mars, and members of my team have helped me every step of the way. So join us for a Twitter Spaces event as they reflect on this decade of discoveries.
88
6,499
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
My team is talking about my almost 10 YEARS on Mars!
Quote Tweet
Square profile picture
NASA JPL
@NASAJPL
LIVE NOW 🔴 It’s been almost 10 years on Mars! Hear from experts on the @MarsCuriosity mission who are talking about the discoveries that have been made and what’s next for the rover. Drop your questions in the comments! youtu.be/nVxwzOgZZ7k
36
1,591
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
I’ve been on Mars for almost a decade? Time flies when you’re having fun on another planet! To mark this upcoming milestone, join a live chat with some of my teammates on July 21 at 7pm PT (10pm ET) who will talk about my past and future for this mission.
youtube.com
Curiosity – A Decade on Mars (Live Public Talk)
Ten years and over 17 miles of driving has taught us there is more to Mars than we could ever imagine. We’ll take a look at highlights from the past decade o...
39
2,195