Curiosity Mars rover's wheels are more battered than ever — but they still work

As fun as it would be to visit Mars, we wouldn't necessarily want to walk a mile in the Curiosity rover's shoes — or rather, its wheels. After landing in Mars' Gale Crater in 2012 and traveling some 20 miles (32 kilometers) over the rocky Martian landscape, the robotic explorer's  six wheels are looking a little worse for wear.

The latest wheel photo, taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Sept. 22 shows quite a bit of damage — some of which appears to be new — from smaller dents and punctures to major tears and gashes. 

But before you panic, let us allay your fears. Curiosity's wheels have been damaged for more than a decade, and the rover is trucking along. "The image shows the MAHLI view of the right-middle (RM) wheel, which is still holding up well despite taking some of the worst abuse from Mars," Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a statement.

As early as 2013, Curiosity's wheels showed signs of damage, which was not altogether surprising considering it's a one-ton machine rolling over rugged terrain, including jagged rocks. Thus, the rover's team began regular inspections of the wheels using MAHLI, keeping close tabs on the progression of wear and tear.

Related: NASA scientists solve mystery of curious 'spiders' on Mars

At one point, the team steered Curiosity away from more treacherous terrain in favor of smoother paths to prolong the lifespan of its wheels. Then, in 2017, JPL engineers uploaded new software to Curiosity that uses an algorithm to alter each wheel's speed to reduce pressure from the rocks beneath its grousers, or treads. 

While wheel damage still occurs regularly, as this new image shows, Curiosity is plodding across the tough terrain just fine, continuing its mission to search for evidence that Mars might have once been habitable for microbial life.

Plus, some good has come from Curiosity's wheel damage — NASA studied the damage extensively and used the information to inform the more durable wheel design of the Perseverance rover. And hopefully Curiosity's wheels will hold up for years to come.