MOST excellent!
Way-to-go, NASA! See you in August, Curiosity! > From: baa...@zagami.jpl.nasa.gov > To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:23:11 -0800 > Subject: [meteorite-list] NASA Launches Most Capable and Robust Rover to > Explore Mars (MSL) > > > > Nov. 26, 2011 > > Dwayne Brown > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-1726 > dwayne.c.br...@nasa.gov > > Guy Webster > Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. > 818-354-6278 > guy.webs...@jpl.nasa.gov > > RELEASE: 11-397 > > NASA LAUNCHES MOST CAPABLE AND ROBUST ROVER TO EXPLORE MARS > > CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA began a historic voyage to Mars with the > Nov. 26 launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), which carries a > car-sized rover named Curiosity. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air > Force Station aboard an Atlas V rocket occurred at 10:02 a.m. EST. > > "We are very excited about sending the world's most advanced > scientific laboratory to Mars," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden > said. "MSL will tell us critical things we need to know about Mars, > and while it advances science, we'll be working on the capabilities > for a human mission to the Red Planet and to other destinations where > we've never been." > > The mission will pioneer precision landing technology and a sky-crane > touchdown to place Curiosity near the foot of a mountain inside Gale > Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During a nearly two-year prime mission after > landing, the rover will investigate whether the region has ever > offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the > chemical ingredients for life. > > "The launch vehicle has given us a great injection into our > trajectory, and we're on our way to Mars," said MSL Project Manager > Peter Theisinger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in > Pasadena, Calif. "The spacecraft is in communication, thermally > stable and power positive." > > The Atlas V initially lofted the spacecraft into Earth orbit and then, > with a second burst from the vehicle's upper stage, pushed it out of > Earth orbit into a 352-million-mile (567-million-kilometer) journey > to Mars. > > "Our first trajectory correction maneuver will be in about two weeks," > Theisinger said. "We'll do instrument checkouts in the next several > weeks and continue with thorough preparations for the landing on Mars > and operations on the surface." > > Curiosity's ambitious science goals are among the mission's many > differences from earlier Mars rovers. It will use a drill and scoop > at the end of its robotic arm to gather soil and powdered samples of > rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into > analytical laboratory instruments inside the rover. Curiosity carries > 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the > science-instrument payloads on the Mars rovers Spirit and > Opportunity. Some of the tools are the first of their kind on Mars, > such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental > composition from a distance, and an X-ray diffraction instrument for > definitive identification of minerals in powdered samples. > > To haul and wield its science payload, Curiosity is twice as long and > five times as heavy as Spirit or Opportunity. Because of its one-ton > mass, Curiosity is too heavy to employ airbags to cushion its landing > as previous Mars rovers could. Part of the MSL spacecraft is a > rocket-powered descent stage that will lower the rover on tethers as > the rocket engines control the speed of descent. > > The mission's landing site offers Curiosity access for driving to > layers of the mountain inside Gale Crater. Observations from orbit > have identified clay and sulfate minerals in the lower layers, > indicating a wet history. > > Precision landing maneuvers as the spacecraft flies through the > Martian atmosphere before opening its parachute make Gale a safe > target for the first time. This innovation shrinks the target area to > less than one-fourth the size of earlier Mars landing targets. > Without it, rough terrain at the edges of Curiosity's target would > make the site unacceptably hazardous. > > The innovations for landing a heavier spacecraft with greater > precision are steps in technology development for human Mars > missions. In addition, Curiosity carries an instrument for monitoring > the natural radiation environment on Mars, important information for > designing human Mars missions that protect astronauts' health. > > The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate > in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at > JPL. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in > Florida managed the launch. NASA's Space Network provided space > communication services for the launch vehicle. NASA's Deep Space > Network will provide spacecraft acquisition and mission > communication. > > For more information about the mission, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/msl > > For more information about the Deep Space Network, visit: > > http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn > > -end- > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
