When did the Curiosity rover land on Mars?

Curiosity is a car-sized rover weighing about 900 kg, launched in November 2011. Because it was too heavy for airbags, a rocket-powered descent stage lowered it on cables and then flew away — the first time the sky crane technique was used. Engineers called the landing sequence 'seven minutes of terror' because it happened automatically while signals took several minutes to reach Earth. Curiosity found evidence that Gale Crater once held a lake with conditions suitable for microbial life. The rover is powered by a nuclear battery and has kept working long past its planned two-year mission.