Aeolis Palus Aeolis Palus Aeolis Palus is a plain between the northern wall of Gale crater and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp) on Mars. It is located at . The NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission landed the "Curiosity" rover on Aeolis Palus in August 2012. "Curiosity" spent two (Earth) years exploring the plain as it drove towards Aeolis Mons. The rover left the plain in September 2014 when it reached the mountain's foothills. On August 5, 2012, at 10:32 p.m. PDT/mission time (August 6, 2012 at 5:32 UTC), mission control at JPL received a signal from the NASA "Curiosity"
Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover The Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover (HX-1) is a planned project by China to deploy an orbiter and rover on Mars. The mission is planned to be launched in July or August 2020 with a Long March 5 heavy lift rocket. Its stated objective is to search for evidence of both current and past life, and assessing the planet's environment. China's Mars program started in 2009 in a partnership with Russia. However, the Russian spacecraft Fobos-Grunt carrying a Chinese orbiter Yinghuo-1 crashed on 15 January 2012, days after lift-off.