Curiosity (rover) conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration. In December 2012, "Curiosity" two-year mission was extended indefinitely. On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the "Curiosity" rover landing and related exploratory accomplishments on the planet Mars. The rover is still operational, and as of , "Curiosity" has been on Mars for sols ( total days) since landing on August 6, 2012. "(See current status.)" "Curiosity" design will serve as the basis for the planned Mars 2020 rover. As established by the Mars Exploration Program,
Opportunity mission timeline may clear the dust from its solar panels, as it has happened before. Some of the craters MER-B has investigated Some excitement from finding meteorites, new types of rock or signatures detected from orbit, and speculations on ancient alien fossils which as of yet lean towards geological processes. "Examples" Some other famous targets are the "blueberries" (2004) and "newberries", aka Kirkwood spheres (2012) See also List of rocks on Mars#Opportunity and List of surface features of Mars imaged by "Opportunity" Opportunity mission timeline Opportunity, MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B), is a robotic rover active on the planet Mars since