In one glance: Curiosity has been driving around on Mars for a full 5,000 Martian sols and is still climbing up Sharp Mountain.
According to the NASA Curiosity mission blog (2026-09-09, William Farrand): 2026-08-29 marked the 5,000th sol after landing. Each sol is about 24.6 hours—equivalent to more than 5,137 Earth days. That same week it also passed a point about 1 kilometer above the landing site—comparing it in the article to the Spirit rover’s climb of Husband Hill by roughly 106 meters from years ago. At the moment, it is studying a wind-rippled ridge called “Chocolatal,” suspected to be a transverse aeolian ridge (TAR). It is using its wheels to traverse the troughs and is examining soils and bedding with MAHLI, ChemCam, and APXS.
Independent recheck: Nature World News on 2026-09-10 restated the same details in the same terms—5,000 sols, about 5,137 Earth days, roughly 14 years on the job, ~1 km elevation, and the Chocolatal sand ridge—and pointed to a NASA feature made the same day about the ~1 km elevation.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Right navigation camera. Sol 4998 (2026-08-28 13:58:36 UTC) around Chocolatal.
Data as of: NASA blog 2026-09-09; imaging acquisition Sol 4998 / 2026-08-28
#好奇号 #Mars
According to the NASA Curiosity mission blog (2026-09-09, William Farrand): 2026-08-29 marked the 5,000th sol after landing. Each sol is about 24.6 hours—equivalent to more than 5,137 Earth days. That same week it also passed a point about 1 kilometer above the landing site—comparing it in the article to the Spirit rover’s climb of Husband Hill by roughly 106 meters from years ago. At the moment, it is studying a wind-rippled ridge called “Chocolatal,” suspected to be a transverse aeolian ridge (TAR). It is using its wheels to traverse the troughs and is examining soils and bedding with MAHLI, ChemCam, and APXS.
Independent recheck: Nature World News on 2026-09-10 restated the same details in the same terms—5,000 sols, about 5,137 Earth days, roughly 14 years on the job, ~1 km elevation, and the Chocolatal sand ridge—and pointed to a NASA feature made the same day about the ~1 km elevation.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Right navigation camera. Sol 4998 (2026-08-28 13:58:36 UTC) around Chocolatal.
Data as of: NASA blog 2026-09-09; imaging acquisition Sol 4998 / 2026-08-28
#好奇号 #Mars
