Curiosity Rover checks in on Foursquare, may soon be the mayor of Mars

The NASA team is taking serious steps to making this the most social space exploration yet. Now you can follow the Curiosity Rover’s adventures on Twitter, watch occasional updates on YouTube and track its movements on Foursquare.

Curiosity became the first non-human to check in from space (and the first ever Foursquare user to check in from another planet) when it logged its visit to Mars’ Gale Crater. It even posted photos and left some tips for future visitors, saying that the crater is the perfect place to lose weight (who needs boring Earth gravity anyway?) and suggesting that tourists should pack in lots of moisturiser, good walking shoes and some oxygen if they’d like to breathe.

One check-in closer to being Mayor of Mars!(@ Gale Crater) [pic]: 4sq.com/PwqwcF

— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) October 3, 2012

Technically, the little rover didn’t really log in from Mars — the co-ordinates used in the check in actually suggest that the NASA team running the account is located just outside Los Angeles in the United States. But we’ll play along.

Foursquare officially welcomed its new user and confirmed that the space craft will continue to share its experiences using the service for the remainder of its 23-month stay on the red planet. It is currently headed towards the five-kilometre high Mount Sharp, while investigating the soil and rocks for signs that Mars was ever home to any level of microbial life.

According to NASA, Foursquare users will be able to a Curiosity-themed badge later this year for their check ins at museums, laboratories and places of scientific interest.

Image: NASA