Video reveals heavy years of wear on Mars rover's wheels - Yahoo

More than a decade of exploring Mars' surface has taken a toll on Curiosity, one of NASA's 2 rovers on the red planet.

Years of scouring the surface of a rugged landscape like Mars can take a toll on any vehicle – even one like NASA's Curiosity rover specifically designed for the harsh conditions.

The car-sized robotic rover has taken a beating throughout the course of its 14-year journey on the red planet.

And the latest evidence of the wear-and-tear Curiosity has endured came in the form of a timelapse NASA recently shared spanning the previous six years. The series of images, which the space agency stitched together into a two-minute video, specifically focuses on the rover's visibly-worn wheels.

Here's a look at just what six years of driving around Mars has done to the Curiosity rover.

NASA shares look at 6 years of wear and tear on Mars rover's wheels

NASA's new time-lapse, shared April 28, shows a series of images detailing how the Martian landscape has inflicted wear-and-tear on the agency's Curiosity rover.

The images came courtesy of one of two navigation cameras mounted to the rover's head captured between Jan. 2, 2020 and March 8, 2026. The trials of a decade-plus on Mars is clearly reflected in the visuals of the six well-worn wheels – each about 20 inches in diameter – as they navigate difficult terrain that is at times either rocky or dusty.

"Curiosity’s team is using this timelapse to watch for sand grains shifting on the rover’s deck," NASA said in a statement. "Distinguishing between sand jostled by each drive and wind gusts can provide new information about seasonal changes in the atmosphere."

What is NASA's Curiosity rover?

NASA has two car-sized robots – Perseverance and Curiosity – that have spent years exploring the Martian surface for signs that the planet was once habitable.

While Perseverance hums along at a feature known as the Jezero crater, about 2,300 miles East the Curiosity rover has been exploring the ancient Gale Crater since 2012. Located on the boundary between Mars' cratered southern highlands and its smooth, northern plains, the crater is believed to have formed 3.7 billion years ago.

As it climbs the 3-mile-high Mount Sharp, Curiosity is searching for evidence that Mars was ever hospitable to life. To that end, the rover has been behind a slew of recent discoveries, including observations of never-before-seen organic compounds.

Curiosity has shown signs of damage for years

NASA has for years been aware that Mars' unforgiving terrain is capable of doing some serious damage to its billion-dollar vehicle.

In 2024, for instance, NASA shared an image of the abuse one of Curiosity's wheels withstood on Mars, including dents and holes.

But considering that it was designed for a two-year lifespan, Curiosity has already far exceeded expectation as it continues to plug along.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com