NASA’s Veteran Curiosity Mars Rover Keeps Surprising Us with New Skills

Thirteen years into its Martian adventure, Curiosity isn’t slowing down. Landing in Gale Crater in 2012, this six-wheeled rover has spent over a decade exploring Mars’ ancient landscapes and uncovering clues about a planet that once had rivers and lakes. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have now taught the aging rover new skills, so it can work smarter.

Curiosity’s power comes from a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, a nuclear battery that converts heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. As the plutonium decays, the rover’s energy supply dwindles, so every watt counts. To address this, engineers have made Curiosity more efficient. How do? Curiosity can now do multiple tasks at once.

Another clever update lets Curiosity decide when to take a nap. Previously, engineers would pad daily schedules with extra time to account for delays, so the rover would stay powered up even if it finished early. With new autonomy, Curiosity can now assess its progress and go into a low-power “sleep” mode if it finishes tasks ahead of schedule. Even small savings—like 10 or 20 minutes off a task—add up over months and years and extend Curiosity’s ability to roam.

In addition to energy management, Curiosity has learned some other tricks. Its wheels, worn out after 22 miles of Martian terrain, got a software update to reduce wear. When one of the rover’s Mastcam cameras lost its color filter wheel, engineers came up with a workaround to keep taking color panoramas. The robotic arm’s drill, used to collect rock samples, had mechanical issues but the team developed new ways to keep it drilling into Martian rocks.

What keeps this rover going is its durability. Thirteen years and counting on a planet with freezing temperatures, dust storms and sharp rocks, Curiosity could have been obsolete. Instead it’s learning to work smarter, proving even a machine can get wiser with age.
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