Not just on the spot decision making (there are human operators behind Curiosity after all), but improvising a solution to a problem that was not contemplated.

Not just on the spot decision making (there are human operators behind Curiosity after all), but improvising a solution to a problem that was not contemplated. Take for example the lunar rover fender that broke, and they patched together a solution on the spot. And compare that to the Insight Lander mole, which found a particularly hard-to-drill rock and can't move from the spot (after all, it's a lander, not a rover). Now they are trying to push it with the landers arm, but there's only so much that can be done.