Curiosity Completes Its Longest Drive to Date

Experts at the NASA Jet Propulsion laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, who manage the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, say that the rover Curiosity completed its longest drive to date on the surface of the Red Planet.

The robot moved more than 30.5 meters (100 feet) through Martian dust on September 4, on its way to its first science target, a rocky outcrop called Glenelg. This is located around 400 meters (1,300 feet) from Bradbury Landing, where the rover first landed.

The image above, centered on one of Curiosity's wheels and the track it left on Mars, was collected on sol (Martian day) 29 of the mission, using the robot's Navigation Camera. Mission controllers say that the maneuver went on flawlessly.

In all, Curiosity has traveled for more than 109 meters (358 feet) since first landing on the Red Planet.