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
Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory atmosphere. This creates wind, which in turn stirs up more dust. This results in a feedback loop that scientists are still trying to understand. NASA reported on June 20, 2018 that the dust storm had grown to completely cover the entire planet. On June 4, 2018, NASA announced that "Curiosity" ability to drill has been sufficiently restored by engineers. The rover had experienced drill mechanical problems since December 2016. On June 7, 2018, NASA announced a cyclical seasonal variation in atmospheric methane, as well as the presence of kerogen and other complex organic compounds. The organic compounds were from mudstone