All you wanted to know about NASA Mars Curiosity Rover, but were afraid to ask (NASA)

What is Curiosity (MSL)? NASA's Curiosity rover is the largest and most advanced rover ever sent to Mars. Curiosity’s expense is estimated at more than $1 bn. Curiosity weighs 8,583 pounds (3,893 kilograms). (NASA)

The car-sized rover is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Curiosity's ongoing mission is to study the ancient habitability and the potential for life on Mars. (NASA)

The rover began its first drive on Mars Aug. 29, 2012. The rover is about as tall as a basketball player and uses a 7-foot (2-meter) arm to place tools close to rocks for study. (NASA)

The rover is designed to scoop up soil and rocks and to investigate their formation, structure, and chemical composition in order to look for the chemical building blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur). (NASA)

Unfortunately, Curiosity is almost at the end of its life as its batteries fail. It has already spent over 11 years on Mars. (NASA)

Curiosity launch date and time aboard its launch vehicle, the Atlas V 541 (AV-028 + Centaur) was Nov. 26, 2011 / 15:02:00 UT. (NASA)

Scientific Instruments aboard the rover: Mast Camera (Mastcam), Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), Mars Descent Imager (MARDI), Alpha X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam), Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), Rover Environment Monitoring Station (REMS), Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing Instrument (MEDLI). (NASA)

Curiosity has been tasked to explore a region on Mars known as the Gale Crater. (NASA)

Importantly, within the first eight months of a planned 23-month primary mission, Curiosity met its major objective of finding evidence of a past environment well suited to supporting microbial life. (NASA)

Curiosity is able to travel up to 295 feet (90 meters) per hour on its six-wheeled “rocker-bogie” system. The term "bogie" comes from old railroad systems. (NASA)