14 DAY TRIAL // The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has become the first spacecraft ever to check in from the surface of another planet, using the famous online location service called Foursquare. The event demonstrates the extent to which social media has now become a part of our daily lives.
The rover is already present on a variety of online channels, including Facebook and Twitter. It has now added Foursquare to its list. As Curiosity drives on the surface of Mars, it can now check in at key locations, as well as post photos and tips about that particular area.
“NASA is using Foursquare as a tool to share the rover's new locations while exploring Mars. This will help to involve the public with the mission and give them a sense of the rover's travels through Gale Crater,” NASA HQ associate administrator for communications, David Weaver, says.
Curiosity checked in for the first time on Wednesday, October 3. The mission is managed from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California.