Mount Sharp Mars became the drier environment in more modern times. On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the "Curiosity" rover mission landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars. (Videos: "Curiosity" First Five Years (02:07); "Curiosity" POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); "Curiosity" Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54)) As of 23, 2019, "Curiosity" has been on the planet Mars for sols ( total days; ) since landing on August 6, 2012. Since September 11, 2014, "Curiosity" has been exploring the slopes of Mount Sharp, where more information about the history of Mars is expected to be found. As
Curiosity (rover) California, where she signed her name directly onto the rover as it was being assembled. Ma wrote in her winning essay: "Curiosity" landed in Quad 51 (nicknamed Yellowknife) of Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater. The landing site coordinates are: . The location has been named Bradbury Landing in honor of science fiction author Ray Bradbury. Gale crater, an estimated 3.5 to 3.8 billion-year-old impact crater, is hypothesized to have first been gradually filled in by sediments; first water-deposited, and then wind-deposited, possibly until it was completely covered. Wind erosion then scoured out the sediments, leaving an isolated mountain, Aeolis Mons