Philosophy
The newest of NASA's Mars rovers is set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, November 26 and reach the Red Planet in August 2012. It's called the Mars Science Laboratory, MSL for short, or 'Curiosity' to the masses.
The Curiosity rover is the size of a car, has 17 cameras, a robotic arm, a laser and a drill, and about nine months from now, NASA expects to see it making tracks on Mars.
A team of U.S. space agency scientists selected the landing site, the foot of a mountain within a deep, roughly 150-kilometer-wide depression called Gale Crater.
The Mars Science Laboratory, bolted inside the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket, is hoisted into place at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Ashwin Vasavada, the MSL deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said "This is a Mars scientist's dream machine. We're so excited to have this rover going to Mars this year. It's going to be the virtual presence for over 200 scientists around the world to explore Mars and Gale Crater that we'll talk about. This rover is not only the most technically capable rover ever sent to another planet, but it's actually the most capable scientific explorer we've ever sent out."
That is because Curiosity is a mobile laboratory. It is much larger than NASA's previous Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which are essentially Curiosity's little cousins.
Curiosity can travel up to about 200 meters per day over the Martian landscape. Instead of the solar panels that powered its smaller predecessors, a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor on board will generate plenty of constant power for Curiosity's energy-demanding mission. The remote-controlled vehicle even has a laser that can survey the chemical composition of rocks.
"What really dominates the design of this rover is the fact that it has this ability to sample rocks and soils on Mars for the first time, and so it has a big six-foot [1.8 meter] robotic arm. And the rover is partly that big because it holds two very capable scientific laboratories inside the rover," said Vasavada.
Vasavada said one instrument measures the minerals in sampled rocks and soil, while another looks at chemical elements and any organic material that might be present.
The goal is to learn if Mars, and Gale Crater in particular, ever had environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life.
"This mission is really about looking for those habitable environments, and not detecting life itself," said Vasavada.
Scientists say the mountain located within Gale Crater will yield plenty of information about the planet's evolution because each layer of rock contains clues. Vasavada says Gale Crater is a very promising site for scientists searching for habitable environments. "It has some geologic evidence that water was around. We hope, in fact, to search for organics with this mission. That's another requirement for life as we know it," he said.
Curiosity's nuclear reactor should allow it to operate on the surface of Mars for about two Earth years, the equivalent of one Martian year.
NASA TV
Soon..."Curiosity" will be "Up, up, and away" towards Mars...November 25th, 2011
- "kowabonga Dudes. Surf's Up."...curiosity Hits The Beach With A Sand Sample
"Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover to scoop sand sample" by Jonathan Amos October 5th, 2012 BBC News The Curiosity rover is preparing to scoop its first sample of Martian soil. The vehicle, which landed on the Red Planet in August, has driven up to a...
- Curiosity Could Jeopardize Data By Contanination
"If the Mars rover finds water, it could be H2 ... uh oh!" If Curiosity locates H2O, a simmering NASA controversy will boil over. The rover's drill bits may be tainted with Earth microbes that could survive upon touching water. by Louis Sahagun...
- "curiosity" To Land Soon
"Curiosity Rover on Track for Early August Landing" June 28th, 2012 NASAA maneuver on Tuesday adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain....
- Soon..."curiosity" Will Be "up, Up, And Away" Towards Mars...november 25th, 2011
"NASA: New Mars rover will look for the ingredients of life" November 10th, 2011 Los Angeles Times If you think that people who believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life are kooks, you probably haven't talked to a NASA space scientist...
- Deceased--mars Rover Spirit
Mars Rover Spirit January 3rd, 2004 to May 25th, 2011 "Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Laid To Rest" May 25th, 2011 Mars Daily NASA will cease any further attempts to make contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated...
Philosophy
Saturday, November 26th at 10:02am EST..."Curiosity" to be launched
The Mars Science Laboratory, bolted inside the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket, is hoisted into place at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
"Curiosity Rover Bound for Mars"
by
Suzanne Presto
November 22nd, 2011
Voice of America
by
Suzanne Presto
November 22nd, 2011
Voice of America
The newest of NASA's Mars rovers is set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, November 26 and reach the Red Planet in August 2012. It's called the Mars Science Laboratory, MSL for short, or 'Curiosity' to the masses.
The Curiosity rover is the size of a car, has 17 cameras, a robotic arm, a laser and a drill, and about nine months from now, NASA expects to see it making tracks on Mars.
A team of U.S. space agency scientists selected the landing site, the foot of a mountain within a deep, roughly 150-kilometer-wide depression called Gale Crater.
The Mars Science Laboratory, bolted inside the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket, is hoisted into place at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Ashwin Vasavada, the MSL deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said "This is a Mars scientist's dream machine. We're so excited to have this rover going to Mars this year. It's going to be the virtual presence for over 200 scientists around the world to explore Mars and Gale Crater that we'll talk about. This rover is not only the most technically capable rover ever sent to another planet, but it's actually the most capable scientific explorer we've ever sent out."
That is because Curiosity is a mobile laboratory. It is much larger than NASA's previous Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which are essentially Curiosity's little cousins.
Curiosity can travel up to about 200 meters per day over the Martian landscape. Instead of the solar panels that powered its smaller predecessors, a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor on board will generate plenty of constant power for Curiosity's energy-demanding mission. The remote-controlled vehicle even has a laser that can survey the chemical composition of rocks.
"What really dominates the design of this rover is the fact that it has this ability to sample rocks and soils on Mars for the first time, and so it has a big six-foot [1.8 meter] robotic arm. And the rover is partly that big because it holds two very capable scientific laboratories inside the rover," said Vasavada.
Vasavada said one instrument measures the minerals in sampled rocks and soil, while another looks at chemical elements and any organic material that might be present.
The goal is to learn if Mars, and Gale Crater in particular, ever had environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life.
"This mission is really about looking for those habitable environments, and not detecting life itself," said Vasavada.
Scientists say the mountain located within Gale Crater will yield plenty of information about the planet's evolution because each layer of rock contains clues. Vasavada says Gale Crater is a very promising site for scientists searching for habitable environments. "It has some geologic evidence that water was around. We hope, in fact, to search for organics with this mission. That's another requirement for life as we know it," he said.
Curiosity's nuclear reactor should allow it to operate on the surface of Mars for about two Earth years, the equivalent of one Martian year.
NASA TV
Soon..."Curiosity" will be "Up, up, and away" towards Mars...November 25th, 2011
- "kowabonga Dudes. Surf's Up."...curiosity Hits The Beach With A Sand Sample
"Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover to scoop sand sample" by Jonathan Amos October 5th, 2012 BBC News The Curiosity rover is preparing to scoop its first sample of Martian soil. The vehicle, which landed on the Red Planet in August, has driven up to a...
- Curiosity Could Jeopardize Data By Contanination
"If the Mars rover finds water, it could be H2 ... uh oh!" If Curiosity locates H2O, a simmering NASA controversy will boil over. The rover's drill bits may be tainted with Earth microbes that could survive upon touching water. by Louis Sahagun...
- "curiosity" To Land Soon
"Curiosity Rover on Track for Early August Landing" June 28th, 2012 NASAA maneuver on Tuesday adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain....
- Soon..."curiosity" Will Be "up, Up, And Away" Towards Mars...november 25th, 2011
"NASA: New Mars rover will look for the ingredients of life" November 10th, 2011 Los Angeles Times If you think that people who believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life are kooks, you probably haven't talked to a NASA space scientist...
- Deceased--mars Rover Spirit
Mars Rover Spirit January 3rd, 2004 to May 25th, 2011 "Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Laid To Rest" May 25th, 2011 Mars Daily NASA will cease any further attempts to make contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated...