Rocknest (Mars) Rocknest (Mars) Rocknest is a sand patch on the surface of Aeolis Palus, between Peace Vallis and Aeolis Mons ("Mount Sharp"), in Gale crater on the planet Mars. The patch was encountered by the Curiosity rover on the way from Bradbury Landing to Glenelg Intrigue on September 28, 2012. The "approximate" site coordinates are: . The sand patch is downhill from a cluster of dark rocks. NASA determined the patch to be the location for the first use of the scoop on the arm of the Mars "Curiosity rover". The ""Rocknest"" patch is about by . On October 7, 2012,
Rover (space exploration) it landed on the Martian Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004 at 05:05 Ground UTC (about 13:15 local time), three weeks after its twin "Spirit" (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. On July 28, 2014, NASA announced that "Opportunity", after having traveled over on the planet Mars, has set a new "off-world" record as the rover having driven the greatest distance, surpassing the previous record held by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover that had traveled . () On 26 November 2011, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission was successfully launched for Mars. The mission successfully landed