Pick up to 4 vehicles to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.
Six missions have operated on the Martian surface since 1997 — three simultaneously in 2022.
| Attribute | Curiosity (MSL) Mars Science Laboratory Active · Last updated 2026-06-12Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | ESA | NASA/JPL | NASA/JPL |
| Status | upcoming | Active | Mission Complete |
| Vehicle type | rover | rover | rover |
| Launch date | NET late 2028 (Falcon Heavy from LC-39A) | 2011-11-26 | 1996-12-04 |
| Landing date | TBD ~2030 (post-2028 launch window) | 2012-08-06 | 1997-07-04 |
| Landing site | Oxia Planum | Bradbury Landing, Gale Crater | Ares Vallis, Chryse Planitia |
| Launch mass | ~310 kgas of [2] | 899 kgas of [1] | 10.6 kgas of [1] |
| Power system | Solar panels + NASA-supplied radioisotope heater units (RHUs) for night/winter survival | Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) | Solar panels + non-rechargeable lithium thionyl chloride batteries |
| Instruments | 9 Pasteur payload instruments + 2 m sub-surface drillas of [2]Includes PanCam, ISEM, CLUPI, WISDOM radar, ADRON-RM, Ma_MISS, MicrOmega, RLS Raman, MOMA organic molecule analyser | 10 science instrumentsas of [1]Mastcam, ChemCam, MAHLI, APXS, CheMin, SAM, DAN, REMS, RAD, MARDI | 3 science instruments (APXS ×2, ASI/MET) + 3 camerasas of [1]Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (fore/aft), Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package |
| Distance traveled | — | 36.86 kmas of [3]Actively driving; figure grows with each drive ↑ Farthest | 0.1 km (100 metres)as of [1]Traveled ~100 m over 83 sols; contact lost when lander base station batteries depleted |
| Mission outcome | Europe's first Mars rover, designed to drill 2 m below the surface — deeper than any previous Mars mission — to search for biosignatures shielded from surface radiation. After the 2022 suspension of Russian cooperation, ESA rebuilt the mission with NASA support: on April 16, 2026, NASA formally began implementation of its contributions (Falcon Heavy launch services from LC-39A, braking engines for the landing platform, and radioisotope heater units), targeting a late-2028 launch and a ~2030 landing at Oxia Planum. | Confirmed ancient habitable environment at Gale Crater — lake sediments billions of years old with all ingredients for life. Discovered complex organic molecules and seasonal methane fluctuations. Still driving as of June 2026 (~4,921 sols, 36.86 km), ascending the foothills of Mount Sharp. | First Mars rover in history. Deployed by the Mars Pathfinder lander on July 4, 1997, Sojourner operated 83 sols — nearly 12× its 7-sol design lifetime. Its APXS instrument analyzed 16 rocks and soil patches, including 'Barnacle Bill' and 'Yogi', revealing andesite-like compositions suggesting a more geochemically differentiated volcanic history than expected. The mission proved roving exploration on Mars was feasible. |
All 6 surface vehicles with primary-source citations from NASA JPL, NASA NSSDCA, and CNSA. Pure URL state — bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.