Curiosity (rover) "Curiosity" comprised 23 percent of the mass of the "Mars Science Laboratory" (MSL) spacecraft, which had the sole mission of delivering the rover safely across space from Earth to a soft landing on the surface of Mars. The remaining mass of the MSL craft was discarded in the process of carrying out this task. The general sample analysis strategy begins with high-resolution cameras to look for features of interest. If a particular surface is of interest, "Curiosity" can vaporize a small portion of it with an infrared laser and examine the resulting spectra signature to query the rock's elemental composition.
Opportunity (rover) ceased communications on June 10 and entered hibernation on June 12, 2018. It was hoped it would reboot once the atmosphere cleared, but it did not, suggesting either a catastrophic failure or that a layer of dust has covered its solar panels. NASA hopes to reestablish contact with the rover, citing a windy period that could potentially clean off the solar panels of the rover. The primary surface mission for "Opportunity" was planned to last 90 sols (92 Earth days). The mission has received several extensions and has been operating for days since landing. An archive of weekly updates on