After four weeks of inactivity, the nuclear-powered Mars rover is in "good health and looking forward to new science".
Since April 3, the Curiosity robot has had limited communication with Nasa scientists due to a month-long solar conjunction – when the sun passes between Mars and Earth.
During this time, data sent to and from the mission control headquarters in Pasadena, California, could have been corrupted by interference from the Sun.
So scientists decided to give Curiosity a rest.
However, the @MarsCuriosity Twitter feed has now confirmed that the one-ton rover is expecting to receive commands soon and is ready to continue its mission – searching for sign of a habitable microbial environment on the Red Planet.
The Tweet, posted on Wednesday, said: "I'm in good health and looking forward to new science."
Another read: "I'm healthy and almost ready to resume science ops. With [the] solar conjunction nearly over, my team plans to send new commands on May 1."
So far, the rover has not received any mission commands.
Dr John Bridges, from the University of Leicester, who is part of the team analysing data sent back by Curiosity, said: "We've had a low level of communications throughout [the conjunction] but it's now starting to pick up.
"It's has been a useful gap giving us time to write up our results."
Dr Bridges said the next phase of work had not been decided yet.
He said the Nasa team would first put the robot and its instruments through a series of tests to make sure the month-long vacation had not affected any of its systems.
"It will be a few sols (Martian days), next week probably, before we are back to normal science operations," said Dr Bridges.
"That's when we decide on the analyses to be made and the instruments we are going to use.
"We still have work to complete at Yellowknife Bay."
The robot is at Yellowknife Bay, a rocky outcrop located in the Gale Crater, studying powdered rock samples.
Its goal is to reach Mount Sharp, which stands 3.4 miles (5.5km) above the floor of the Gale Crater – three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep.
The team behind the Curiosity tweets, which have been detailing the rover's mission since it landed in August, have picked up four awards for their technical achievement and creativity.
Among their new Webby Awards, announced on April 30, is the Overall Social Presence category which they won for the @MarsCuriosity Twitter feed.
