Curiosity marks 14 years on Mars and 5000 sols of operations

NASA’s Curiosity rover has reached two operating milestones on Mars: 14 years on the planet and 5000 sols of surface operations. The rover is still exploring Mount Sharp and recently carried out imaging and analysis work near an area called Chocolatal.

The update was announced on 2026-09-04. It also noted that Curiosity has climbed 1 kilometer in elevation since landing.

The announcement was dated 2026-09-04 and said Curiosity had reached 14 years on Mars and 5000 sols on the surface.

The rover has gained 1 kilometer of elevation since landing and is continuing to explore Mount Sharp.

On Sols 5003 and 5004, Curiosity operated with its arm unstowed during investigations of Chocolatal. The rover also made a short drive on sol 5004.

The work included analyses with APXS, MAHLI and ChemCam. ChemCam was used to image the target and collect LIBS observations.

MAHLI was used to view surface features from above, while Dog’s Eye mosaics are reserved for targets that researchers want to examine edge-on.

The surrounding bedrock near the stone under study appears to contain large nodules, and Mastcam was directed back toward the Chocolatal area.

For readers following planetary surface operations, the update shows Curiosity remains active after 14 years on Mars and 5000 sols, while still advancing its traverse with 1 kilometer of elevation gain since landing.

The combination of arm work, imaging and multiple instrument analyses indicates continued scientific activity at Mount Sharp rather than a passive milestone update.

NASA is the organization behind Curiosity.