Will Curiosity Kill the Rover? NASA Preps for Mars Mission

BY ADNAN S. KHAN

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN



NASA is bent on digging deeper into one Mars' greatest mysteries -- literally. Euronews explains.


"NASA scientists claim the search for life on Mars will take a step forward with the launch of its newest rover on Saturday. The vehicle named 'Curiosity' is equipped with tools that can allow the robotic device to drill into rock and collect samples. Curiosity is expected to land on the Red planet in August 2012."


So what's so special about the $2.4 billion dollar rover? Other than the state-of-the-art cameras and computers, the rover is powered by a nuclear battery and has its own built-in laboratory. Meaning, it can conduct experiments year-round. A NASA specialist explains the rover's advantages.


"A new thing the ability to actually drill into rock on Mars. Collect powder from those rocks and deliver that powder to two relatively large analytical chemistry labs that are located inside the rover itself. (FLASH) This will really give the scientist the core information they need to figure out whether Mars was a habitable environment."


But flying to Mars ain't easy, and the opportunity only comes around once every 26 months. That coupled with the poor success rate of Mars missions -- and analysts say it paints a grim future for NASA. The Washington Post highlights the odds of a successful mission.


"About 43 flyby, orbiting and landing missions have been sent to Mars by NASA and other nations in the past 40 years, and only 12 have been fully successful. That's a failure rate of more than two out of three."


But it seems scientists are willing to brave the odds because of the presence of a single gas -- Methane. The New York Times reports.


"Methane molecules are easily blown apart by ultraviolet light from the Sun, so any methane around must have been released recently. Could the gas be burbling from something alive? Cows, after all, burp methane on Earth. Other creatures, including a class of micro-organisms that live without oxygen, also produce methane."


And Space.com says the search for life is of 'fundamental importance' to humanity.


"'It's the argument that is made for exploration anywhere,' said Catharine Conley, a planetary protection officer at NASA. 'We don't know what we're going to find, but if we don't go there, we're not going to find it.'"

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[MrGMaN3301]

I know a guy that is working in one of the mines on mars.

[007HubbaBubba]

Thank You!