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,
Unmanned NASA missions for Space Research at the University of Texas, Austin; NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; the German Space Agency and Germany's National Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible for the overall mission management under the NASA ESSP program. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER), is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers exploring the planet Mars. The mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designed, built and is operating the rovers. The mission began in 2003 with the sending of the two rovers—MER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunity—to explore the Martian