Skip to main content

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover gets a speed boost

While NASA’s newer Perseverance rover tends to get all the headlines these days, the Curiosity rover also continues to explore the surface of Mars more than a decade after it reached the red planet.

The team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which oversees the Mars rover missions, has just given Curiosity a new lease of life after installing its first major software update in seven years.

Recommended Videos

Among the 180 changes implemented in the update, one of the most important ones gives the hardy rover improved driving skills, enabling it to cover ground more quickly.

Curiosity is designed to drive in segments, stopping after each one to assess captured imagery of the nearby terrain so that it can plan a safe route forward. This is in contrast with Perseverance, which has a dedicated computer that allows it to snap imagery and process it on the move.

While Curiosity will still need to halt after each segment, the new software will enable the rover to process the imagery much faster than before, helping to speed up its journey time.

“This won’t let Curiosity drive as quickly as Perseverance, but instead of stopping for a full minute after a drive segment, we’re stopping for just a moment or two,” JPL’s Jonathan Denison explained in an online post. “Spending less time idling between drive segments also means we use less energy each day. And even though we’re almost 11 years old, we’re still implementing new ideas to use more of our available energy for science activities.”

It’s worth noting that Curiosity’s movement across the Martian surface will still be something of a crawl as its top speed is a little less than 1 mph, considerably slower than the average 3 mph speed that humans walk at.

The recent software update will also lead to less wear and tear on the rover’s aluminum wheels, improve the efficiency of Curiosity’s Earth-based human drivers, and pave the way for easier operation of Curiosity’s robotic arm.

Other changes include enhancements to the way Curiosity sends messages to JPL and the simplification of computer code that has been altered by numerous patches since Curiosity over the years.

“The biggest changes will help keep Curiosity rolling more efficiently for years to come,” JPL said.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
NASA’s Mars rover reveals what it’s grateful for this Thanksgiving
NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars.

It’s not just people who are sharing what they’re grateful for during Thanksgiving today -- Mars rovers are, too.

In a post on X, NASA’s Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, shared a message saying: “These stunning views of the Red Planet are a reminder of how vast and mysterious our universe is. What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?”

Read more
Watch NASA’s Mars video of a ‘googly eye’ during solar eclipse
The Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie on Sept. 10, 2021 — sol 198 of the mission – in Jezero Crater after coring into a rock called ‘Rochette.’ Rock core samples from the floor of the crater will be brought back to Earth and analyzed to characterize the planet’s geology and past climate.

As it continues its painstaking search for microbial life on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has also been reporting otherworldly happenings occurring during its adventures.

Just recently, for example, one of its many onboard cameras captured some remarkable footage of a solar eclipse as Phobos -- one of Mars’ two moons -- passed between the red planet and the sun.

Read more
Follow Mars rover’s 18-mile trip in NASA’s animated route map
The route taken on Mars by NASA's Perseverance rover.

Perseverance Mars Rover Drive Path Animation

NASA has shared a fascinating animation showing the route taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars since its arrival there in February 2021.

Read more