<Tr> <Th> Distance covered </Th> <Td> 17.31 km (10.76 mi) as of 29 August 2017 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Mars rovers (NASA) ← Spirit / Opportunity Mars 2020 → </Td> </Tr> <P> Curiosity is a car - sized rover designed to explore Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL). Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15: 02 UTC aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05: 17 UTC . The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey . The rover's goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration . </P> <P> In December 2012, Curiosity's two - year mission was extended indefinitely . On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover landing and related exploratory accomplishments on the planet Mars . </P>

When did the mars rover land on mars