New NASA images reveal giant hole in Curiosity rover's wheel after 12 years of 'abuse' on Mars

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Images captured by Curiosity's onboard cameras show several large tears in the tire of one of the rover's wheels. However, the damage does not appear to be slowing the roaming robot down.

A photo of one of the Curiosity rover's wheels with a large hole revealing an inner mechanism
New images reveal a massive hole in the middle right wheel of NASA's Curiosity rover, which has exposed the inner mechanisms of the device. (Image credit: NASA/MAHLI)

New photos reveal several sizable holes in one of the wheels of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, highlighting the toll that 12 years of scrambling across the Red Planet's harsh landscape have taken on the intrepid roaming robot.

Curiosity first touched down on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012 and was initially only expected to last for two years. But the hardy rover has defied expectations and has lasted 4,323 Martian days, or Sols, on the Red Planet, traveling more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) around the Gale Crater, where it originally landed.

However, new photos taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and released by NASA on Sept. 24 reveal that the rover's epic journey has taken a toll on the robot's middle right wheel. The images show several large tears in the wheel's heavily scratched tire, including one particularly large hole that reveals the wheel’s inner mechanisms. It is currently unclear when these holes first emerged or if any of the rover's other wheels have suffered similar damage.

Related: Can you spot the hidden robot on the slopes of Mars?

A photo of one of the Curiosity rover's wheels with several tears in its scratched surface

Several other smaller tears are also visible across the wheel's heavily scratched tire. (Image credit: NASA/MAHLI)

The damage may look bad but Curiosity "is still holding up well despite taking some of the worst abuse from Mars," mission operations engineer Ashley Stroupe wrote in the statement.

There is no indication that the rover will stop anytime soon. But if it did, it would join a growing list of recent robotic casualties on Mars, including China's Zhurong Mars rover, which was revealed to have met its end last year after months of speculation around its inactivity, and NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which sent its final message to Earth in April.

This is not the first time that the wheels of one of NASA's Mars rovers have made headlines recently.

Back in 2022, researchers noticed that NASA's newest rover Perseverance had picked up a "pet rock" that became stuck inside the drum of one of the robot's wheels. This hitchhiking pebble remained with Curiosity's successor for more than a year before becoming dislodged in April 2023.

Given the size of the largest hole in Curiosity's wheel, it seems likely that pebbles or dirt could have also ended up inside the rover's rims, but this has not been confirmed.

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Harry Baker
Harry Baker
Senior Staff Writer

Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior and paleontology. His recent work on the solar maximum won "best space submission" at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He also writes Live Science's weekly Earth from space series.