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
Scientific information from the Mars Exploration Rover mission a biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, as well as ancient water, including fluvio-lacustrine environments (plains related to ancient rivers or lakes) that may have been habitable. The search for evidence of habitability, taphonomy (related to fossils), and organic carbon on the planet Mars is now a primary NASA objective. On March 2, 2004, NASA announced that "Opportunity has landed in an area of Mars where liquid water once drenched the surface". Associate administrator Ed Weiler told reporters that the area "would have been good habitable environment", although no traces of life have been found. This statement was