Gale (crater) about above the floor of Gale—three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep. At 10:32 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012 (1:32 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012), the Mars Science Laboratory rover "Curiosity" landed on Mars at , at the foot of the layered mountain inside Gale crater. "Curiosity" landed within a landing ellipse approximately by . The landing ellipse is about below Martian "sea level" (defined as the average elevation around the equator). The expected near-surface atmospheric temperatures at the landing site during "Curiosity"s primary mission (1 Martian year or 687 Earth days) are from to .
Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory and natural gas on Earth. NASA stated that these findings are not evidence that life existed on the planet, but that the organic compounds needed to sustain microscopic life were present, and that there may be deeper sources of organic compounds on the planet. 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 of the glitch in Side-B is