Curiosity (rover) to Mars in 2020. Some spare parts from the build and ground test of "Curiosity" may be used in the new vehicle. On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the "Curiosity" rover mission landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars. (Videos: "Curiosity" First Five Years (02:07); "Curiosity" POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); "Curiosity" Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54)) As reported in 2018, drill samples taken in 2015 uncovered organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3 billion year old rock samples in Gale Crater. The NASA/JPL Mars Science Laboratory/"Curiosity" Project Team was awarded the 2012
Mars Exploration Rover Endeavour Crater, eight years after landing. The orbital spectroscopy of this crater rim show the signs of phyllosilicate rocks, indicative of older sedimentary deposits. Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers: MER-A "Spirit" and MER-B "Opportunity"—to explore the Martian surface and geology; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004. Both rovers far outlived their planned missions of 90 Martian solar days: MER-A "Spirit" was active until 2010,