Mars 2020 affordable. "Curiosity" engineering team are also involved in the rover's design. Based on the scientific objectives, nearly 60 proposals for rover instrumentation were evaluated and, on 31 July 2014, NASA announced the payload for the rover. In May 2017, evidence of the earliest known life on land may have been found in 3.48-billion-year-old geyserite, a mineral deposit often found around hot springs and geysers, uncovered in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. These findings may be helpful in deciding where best to search for early signs of life on the planet Mars. The following locations are the eight landing sites
Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory to the drill mechanism and the rover started moving again on December 9. The robotic arm is functional, and the "Curiosity" team performed diagnostics on the drill mechanism throughout 2017. On June 4, 2018, NASA announced that "Curiosity" ability to drill has been sufficiently restored by changing the drilling methods. Since September 15, 2018, a glitch in "Curiosity"'s active computer (Side-B) has prevented "Curiosity" from storing science and key engineering data. On October 3, 2018, the JPL began operating "Curiosity" on its backup computer (Side-A). "Curiosity" will store science and engineering data normally using its Side-A computer until the cause