Curiosity had been on its own since early April, when Mars slipped behind the sun from Earth's perspective.
Our star can disrupt communications between the two planets in this alignment, which is known as a Mars solar conjunction, so Curiosity's handlers at Mission Control had temporarily stopped sending commands to the 1-ton rover.
But the heavens have shifted, bringing Mars and Earth back in touch and the Curiosity rover back within reach of its masters.
"Can you hear me now? Conjunction is over. I have a clear view of Earth & am back to work!" NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via the Curiosity Twitter feed today (May 2).
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