Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth. On June 24, 2014, "Curiosity" completed a Martian year—687 Earth days—after finding that Mars once had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. On June 27, 2014, "Curiosity" crossed the of its "" and is now in territory that may get even more interesting, especially in terms of Martian geology and landscape (). On July 12, 2014, "Curiosity" imaged the first laser spark on Mars (; video (01:07).) On August 6, 2014, "Curiosity" celebrated its second anniversary since landing on Mars in 2012. On
NASA Earth Science NASA Earth Science NASA Earth Science, formerly called the NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), formerly called Mission To Planet Earth (MTPE), is a NASA research program "to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth system and its response to natural and human-induced changes to enable improved prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards for present and future generations". "To improve life here" and "To understand and protect our home planet," NASA supports research in the Earth Sciences and, as part of its Earth Observing System (EOS), launches and maintains Earth observing satellites to monitor the state of the climate, atmospheric