Atlas V Lifts Off with the Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission with the aim to land and operate a rover named Curiosity on the surface of Mars, currently in transit to Mars. The MSL was launched November 26, 2011, at 10:02 EST and is scheduled to land on Mars at Gale Crater on August 6, 2012,which is about 10pm in the evening of August 5 PDT, the time used by the mission controllers in Pasadena, California. If it arrives at Mars, the rover Curiosity will attempt a more precise landing than attempted previously and then help assess Mars's habitability. A primary mission objective is to determine whether Mars is or has ever been an environment able to support life, though it will not look for any specific type of life. Rather, it is intended to chemically analyze samples in various ways, including scooping up soil, drill rocks, and with a laser and sensor system.

Curiosity is five times larger than either of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit or Opportunity[ and carries more than ten times the mass of scientific instruments present on the older vehicles. The MSL rover Curiosity was launched by an Atlas V 541 rocket and is expected to operate for at least 686 days as it explores with greater potential range than any previous Mars rover.

Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of Mars, and the project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology for NASA. The total cost of the MSL project is about US$2.5 billion.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Mars Science Laboratory
• Atlas V
• Atlas (rocket Family)
• nasa
• Space