Curiosity, a car-sized rover, landed on Mars in 2012 and has been studying the planet’s climate and geology. It hummed “Happy Birthday” to itself on its first anniversary, but usually vibrates at different frequencies to collect soil samples. The European Space Agency and Roscosmos plan to launch the ExoMars mission next year, while NASA’s Mars 2020 mission plans to land a rover in 2021. NASA has also released a smaller Curiosity replica for computer users to download and assemble for $2,500.
Curiosity landed on the surface of Mars in August 2012, after a nine-month journey from Cape Canaveral. Since then, the car-sized rover has been studying the Martian climate and its geological makeup, a prelude to possible human exploration of the Red Planet in the future. NASA engineers programmed the robotic rover to hum “Happy Birthday” to itself on August 4, 2013, the first anniversary of its landing on Mars, using a series of frequencies to approximate the song’s notes. Usually, the rover vibrates at different frequencies to collect soil samples. Curiosity is still exploring the Red Planet seven years after it landed, but the song was a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. No need to waste precious battery energy, says NASA.
Around Mars:
Curiosity will get some company soon, as the European Space Agency and Roscosmos plan to launch the ExoMars mission next year, which will deposit the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars.
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission also plans to land a rover on the Red Planet in 2021; the rover will be nominated in a student competition later this year.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released the design of a smaller Curiosity replica that computer users can download and assemble themselves, using “off-the-shelf parts for just $2,500.”
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