carries a  radioisotope-powered  mobile  scientific laboratory and is part of  NASA 's  Mars Science Laboratory  (MSL) mission by the  United States . Curiosity  was launched from  Cape Canaveral  on November 26, 2011 at 10:02 EST aboard the  MSL spacecraft  and successfully landed on  Aeolis Palus  in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6,