Curiosity lands on Mars: Six years later

摘要

In 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) [1] successfully touched down on the Red Planet. Aptly named Curiosity, it brought with it scientific discovery instruments and exploration capabilities that only a nuclear-powered rover could realistically possess. While not the first rover to successfully land on Mars, a distinction that goes to Sojourner, deployed by the Mars Pathfinder in 1997, and followed by the wildly successful Mars Exploration Rover (MER) pair Spirit and Opportunity that landed in 2004 [2], Curiosity was the first rover powered by nuclear energy.