"The first footfalls on Mars will mark a historic milestone, an enterprise that requires human tenacity matched with technology to anchor ourselves on another world" - Buzz Aldren

August 6th, 2012 - One of the most ambitious space missions to date went into action. The unmanned space rover, aptly named Curiosity, was set to land on Mars, all that was left was the trip. After the "Seven Minutes of Terror," Curiosity was to begin its mission into the Martian wilderness. Over the course of the two years, Curiosity has been active studying the Mars for signs of life and water, reporting diligently back to NASA. Armed with cameras and a rock-vaporizing laser, Curiosity has been shooting and rocks and taking pictures for two years now, and we've learned some pretty astounding things.

Thanks to the intrepid rover, we have evidence that there was most likely once water on Mars. We now know that life on Mars was possible given the history of the red planet, and we have an idea of where to search for it. Among the many things that Curiosity has discovered on its extra-terrestrial mission, the biggest benefit from the rover may be a renewed interest in the space program. From lego sets to t-shirts to its own Twitter handle, people are interested in what's going on on Mars.

Now, 2 years later, we get a look at what the time and elements have done to our beloved space-faring friend. And maybe, just maybe, we can one day send someone up there to go meet our rover buddy and thank it for all it has done for us.