Transit of Mercury last four transits occurred on November 15, 1999; May 7, 2003; November 8, 2006; and May 9, 2016. The next will occur on November 11, 2019, and then on November 13, 2032. A typical transit lasts several hours. On June 3, 2014, the Mars rover "Curiosity" observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth. More generally, transits can also occur for Venus and were investigated in the context of searching for the hypothetical inner planet Vulcan. The most common observation to be made at a
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