Curiosity Returns Data Steadily, Performs Flawlessly

Scientists working on the Curiosity mission on Mars are making steady progress in evaluating the data the car-sized craft sends back from the Red Planet. The unmanned craft is looking for signs of an environment that might once have supported life.

Entering its fifth month on Mars’ surface, the rover Curiosity and the instruments of the Mars Science Laboratory are performing well, mission managers said December 3. This self-portrait is a composite of multiple images Curiosity has taken of itself with a camera mounted on its extending arm.

The craft has collected soil samples and processed them through the scientific instruments for analysis just as it was designed to perform. Scientists are cautious about their early results, making sure that they are not tainted with molecular elements that may have been onboard since the spacecraft took off from Earth almost a year ago.

The mission’s goal is to determine whether the Martian environment could have supported some life form in the past. So far, no definitive evidence allows a conclusion, and one project scientist said there will likely be no eureka moment for the mission. Each discovery will be checked, rechecked, countertested and verified at the methodical pace of sound science.