A Year of Curiosity

The Curiosity rover has been on Mars for a year now.  While the rover captured the public's eye with its exciting landing, I've been waiting for a while, watching the science roll in.  This article provides a good summary of everything that the probe has accomplished in the past year:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/08/curiosity-year-discoveries/?pid=9781&viewall=true

The confirmation that Mars had fresh liquid water at its surface is the most exciting piece of news.  The implications should be obvious, where there is water, life usually follows.  Unfortunately, Curiosity isn't equipped to look for ancient or current life, so we'll have to wait for the next rover to find the answer to those questions.  However, the prospects for current life on Mars do not look good, as Curiosity was unable to detect any methane in the Martian atmosphere.  Methane had previously been detected, and since methane almost always comes from an organic source, modern life on Mars seemed likely.  This result doesn't mean there isn't currently life on Mars, but the odds are against it.  The rover is still going strong, and hopefully the future will prove to be as productive as the past year for Curiosity.