Curiosity’s Mission to Mars: Newest Discoveries from Gale Crater

The Mars Science Laboratory’s rover Curiosity is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort to explore the red planet, to study the rich environmental history of early Mars, and to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. On August 5, 2012, Curiosity touched down on Mars’ Gale Crater, an area chosen as the field site for based on its regional context and strong evidence for a progression through multiple potentially habitable environments. Grotzinger will discuss the most recent mission results. John Grotzinger is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology at Caltech.