Nasa's Mars rover Curiosity has reached its second full year as an alien observer on the Red Planet.
The one-ton nuclear-powered robot hit the Martian soil on August 6, 2012, and has been collecting vital data about the environment ever since.
Its task was to search for evidence of a habitat capable of supporting microbes - which it successfully did in February last year.
After drilling into the alien bedrock the rover discovered traces of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, sulphur, phosphorous and carbon - elements vital for supporting life.
Now, two-years after touching down safely, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) - as it is also known - is continuing to help scientists learn about our distant dusty, red neighbour.
One of the academics analysing the information sent back by Curiosity is Dr John Bridges, a reader in planetary science at the University of Leicester.
He is part of the Nasa team controlling the $2.5billion space mission.
Dr Bridges said: "In the last two years we have added enormously to our knowledge of Mars.
"Before landing in August 2012 we guessed that there might have been lakes at one time in Mars.
"However, the reality is we couldn't be sure until we put a rover right up close to the rocks.
"We have found clay and fine grained mudstones, so there is no doubt any more - ancient Mars could have supported life."
As well as the MSL, there are a number of Nasa probes and rovers still active on Mars and in its orbit.
The Opportunity rover recently broke the record for the distance travelled on an alien world, by driving 25-miles since landing on Mars in 2004.
It is still sending back valuable information about the planets craters and meteorites 10 years after its mission was supposed to end.
Now, Dr Bridges says he hopes Curiosity can follow in its tracks and continue to help scientists learn about Red Planet – and help pave the way for future human exploration.
He said: "The mobile laboratory that is Curiosity has been remarkably successful, apart from a few tears in the wheels we have driven over 8.5km from our landing spot on an ancient pebbly river bed in Peace Vallis, sometimes reaching over 100 metres per day.
"Remember this all has to be planned and operated from over 60 million km away on Earth, and that the average temperature for day time operations at the landing site is about -60 degrees.
"Perhaps the main significance of Curiosity will turn out to be the encouragement it has given to future exploration missions on Mars – robotic and one day human.
"Mars may well prove to have a rich and varied history of water. For centuries people have looked through telescopes, and more recently with spacecraft, at Mars, guessed at the former presence of water and wondered if there has been life.
"I think our generation could be the one that determines if there ever was life on Mars."
