Short answers, pulled from the story.
Curiosity landed on Mars on the 6th of August 2012, at 05:17:57 UTC, touching down in Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater. The landing site was named Bradbury Landing, in honor of science fiction author Ray Bradbury.
Twelve-year-old Clara Ma from Sunflower Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas, named the rover through a nationwide NASA contest that drew more than 9,000 proposals. As her prize, Ma traveled to JPL in Pasadena, California, and signed her name directly onto the rover while it was being assembled.
Curiosity is powered by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) fueled by 4.8 kilograms of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy. The generator produces 9 megajoules of electrical energy each day and was designed to output at least 100 watts after 14 years of operation.
Curiosity has not confirmed the presence of life, but it has discovered organic molecules including benzene, propane, long-chain alkanes with up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, and DNA precursors such as benzothiophene. The origin of these molecules -- whether abiotic or biological -- remains unresolved.
Curiosity has a life-cycle cost of US$3.2 billion, adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars. By comparison, the 2021 Perseverance rover has a life-cycle cost of US$2.9 billion.
As of August 2024, Curiosity had driven 35.5 kilometers from its landing site. As of January 2025, the rover's elevation had increased by over 740 meters as it climbed the slopes of Mount Sharp.