Curiosity (rover) counted. Previous NASA Mars rovers became active only after the successful entry, descent and landing on the Martian surface. "Curiosity", on the other hand, was active when it touched down on the surface of Mars, employing the rover suspension system for the final set-down. "Curiosity" transformed from its stowed flight configuration to a landing configuration while the MSL spacecraft simultaneously lowered it beneath the spacecraft descent stage with a tether from the "sky crane" system to a soft landing—wheels down—on the surface of Mars. After the rover touched down it waited 2 seconds to confirm that it was on solid
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