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Curiosity Martian Mission Reaches 1337 Sols In Operation
As of 11th of May, 2016, Curiosity [nasa.gov], NASA's Martian rover mission, has completed its second local year [nasa.gov] (approx. four Earth years equivalent) in operation. The mission monitors and records Martian weather conditions to aid in the study of meteorological conditions present on the planet billions of years ago. During the mission, Curiosity has recorded many interesting events;
[...] a large spike in methane in the local atmosphere during the first southern-hemisphere autumn in Gale Crater was not repeated the second autumn. It was an episodic release, still unexplained. However, the rover's measurements do suggest that much subtler changes in the background methane concentration -- amounts much less than during the spike -- may follow a seasonal pattern. Measurements of temperature, pressure, ultraviolet light reaching the surface and the scant water vapor in the air at Gale Crater show strong, repeated seasonal changes.
Continued operation across multiple Martian years will help to distinguish suspected freak events with seasonal changes on the planet. Having far surpassed [nasa.gov] the original specified mission duration, Curiosity is truly a testament to outstanding engineering.
