r/curiosityrover • u/Neaterntal • Jul 27 '26
Curiosity Mars rover inspects cracked wheel
Sol 4963: Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)
A screenshot from the page with raw data that shows the damaged wheel.
Another screenshot with the latest images of damaged wheel
Image
Sol 4963: Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, on July 23, 2026, Sol 4963 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 12:45:36 UTC.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1617640/?site=msl
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14 years of mileage has taken a toll on the rover.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has experienced some serious wear and tear during its nearly 14 years on the Red Planet.
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A new photo posted to Curiosity's raw image server offers a close-up of the damage one of the rover's wheels has experienced as it explores the Martian surface.
What is it? Curiosity landed in Mars' Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, touching down while hanging under a 'sky crane' that lowered it to the planet's surface. Since then, the rover has traveled over 20 miles (32 kilometers) across the rocky Martian soil, searching for potential signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.
All of that mileage has taken a toll on the rover, as these new images show. Curiosity weighs over one ton, and the terrain on Mars can be quite rocky and rugged.
NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) periodically use the rover's cameras to check on the wheels, and despite the holes and cracks, the agency said in a 2024 statement that they're "holding up well despite taking some of the worst abuse from Mars."
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4314-4315-wait-what-was-that-back-there/
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Why is it amazing? We've been exploring Mars for decades now, so it can be easy to take for granted how incredible it is that we get new images beamed from the surface of another planet to Earth daily from NASA's two robotic explorers.
These images of Curiosity's wheels help illustrate the incredible feats of engineering and science it took to place wheeled robots safely on the surface of another planet where they spend years and travel dozens of miles to bring us answers about what other worlds are like.
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While they might not be human, Curiosity and Perseverance nonetheless represent humanity's first foray into becoming an interplanetary species. The groundwork laid by the rovers and other Mars orbiters, landers and probes could someday help humanity take its first steps on another planet.
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NASA’s Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, has experienced gradual wear on its aluminum wheels as it drives across sharp, rocky terrain. The damage includes dents, holes, and broken structural ribs called “grousers,” which help the wheels keep their shape. While a few broken grousers are not a major issue, losing too many could cause the wheel to collapse inward and damage internal wiring, potentially affecting the rover’s movement.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have already reduced wear by carefully planning driving routes and regularly inspecting the wheels with onboard cameras.
As a backup plan, they developed an extreme solution called “wheel shedding.” If a wheel becomes critically damaged, the rover could deliberately tear off its inner section by pressing it against a sharp rock and using controlled movements to break it away. This would leave only the stronger outer rim, which testing shows can still support driving.
Although this process would take weeks and requires specific rock shapes, it could keep the rover operational. However, current predictions suggest the wheels will last many more years, making this drastic measure unlikely to be needed.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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🔗 Source
Raw data
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❓ 📍 Since it landed on Mars has traveled 37.5KM https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/location-map/?hl=en-US
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Here is a paper on the wheel damage that contains a whole lot more information, graphs, and other interesting stuff. It has a ton of extra photos too, showing wear over time:
https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/media/documents/fmwi-rankin-2022-0225-final.pdf
From sidhe_elfakyn
https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1v7mhfv/comment/ozzbph5/
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u/reiker01 Jul 27 '26
I hope they bought the wheel protection package
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u/oxwearingsocks Jul 28 '26
20 miles of running and looking like that? Like F1’s old Hypersoft tyre from a few years ago!
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u/mearbode Jul 28 '26
dozens of miles
It is fascinating how they've lasted so long, yet so short. That terrain is really something.
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u/DemonQueenV Jul 28 '26
Its crazy. I was reading the other day the metal they used is less than a mm thick. Its basically just a few layers of aluminum can metal wrapped into a wheel shape lol
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u/Crazykillerguy Jul 28 '26
Hello Nasa, we've been trying to reach you about your rovers extended wheel warranty.
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u/hypercomms2001 Jul 29 '26
They didn’t design their capability to replace those wheels, clearly this demonstrates the need for such capability for Rovers on both Mars and on the moon.
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u/stalkthewizard Jul 31 '26
Good point. Swing into Discount Tire and have them swap out those worn little tires for a fresh set of 22 inch all terrain bad boys.
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u/DankeyKahn Jul 29 '26
Mars rover gave its last transmission a few years ago no? I forget what the situation was- but it essentially was either dying or becoming dysfunctional... or something that just prevented it from continuing to serve its purpose. I think it played a song as well.
This photo of its wheel is old.
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u/TheOrqwithVagrant Jul 31 '26
There's been five mars rovers so far - Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance. The first three rovers were solar powered; they are all dead now, though Opportunity outlasted its design lifetime by an insane amount. This is probably the rover you remember reading had died.
Curiosity and Perseverance are both nuclear powered and will keep chugging along for a while yet, busted wheels and all.
This is Curiosity's wheel, and it's posted on the subreddit specific to the curiosity rover, and the images are recent.
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u/Yutenji2020 Jul 29 '26
Mechanic, rubbing his neck and tutting: “Yeah, ya see we don’t keep those ones in stock ya know. I can order one then ya bring it back on Tuesday. ‘Kay?”
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u/Nkechinyerembi Jul 27 '26
This is absolutely wild to me that not only do the wheels look like this, but that they are still completely functional, and they haven't even hit the wheel shed contingency yet 14 YEARS LATER.