#Curiosity is a car-sized #rover designed to explore #GaleCrater on #Mars as part of NASA's #MarsScienceLaboratoryMission #MSL . Curiosity was launched from #CapeCanaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 pm aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 am. The #BradburyLanding 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. In December 2012, Curiosity's two-year #mission was extended indefinitely. On August 5, 2017, #NASA celebrated the #FifthAnniversary of the #CuriosityRover landing and related exploratory accomplishments on the planet Mars. The rover is still operational, and as of July 31, 2018, Curiosity has been on Mars for 2127 sols (2185 total days) since landing on August 6, 2012.