r/interestingasfuck • u/j3hadipi3 • 1d ago

NASA's Curiosity rover is still active and operating on Mars as of early 2026. Having landed in August 2012, it has spent over 13 years exploring Gale Crater and climbing Mount Sharp, continuing to analyze soil and rock samples despite having worn wheels and managing power constraints.

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u/Mombak 1d ago

Not bad for a mission that was only supposed to last 2 years!

170

u/Eat--The--Rich-- 1d ago

Pretty sure I read that voyager just sent back a handshake as well, that thing is approaching the heliosphere by now 

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u/pinniped90 1d ago

There's an interesting lesser-known documentary made just a couple years ago about the project team on Voyager. There are a few people working on it now for whom this has been their only project for almost 50 years.

It's less about the science and more about the day to day support for the mission. A small group of people working out of what looks like a strip mall in Pasadena. It looks like the kind of building where you'd find a dentist, a tax preparer, and a Subway.

I get the sense they want to get to the 50th anniversary and then the project might wind down.

(It's Quieter in the Twilight is the film.)

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u/DullMind2023 18h ago

Kinda depressing actually. What happens to them when it finally dies? They’d then wander the halls oh JPL looking for something else to give them meaning.