By G. O. Okeng'o
Mars
Science Laboratory (MSL) or the Mars
Curiosity Rover,
launched
by NASA on
November 26, 2011 is
currently
en route to the red planet Mars and is scheduled to land in Mars's Gale Crater at
about 05:31 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), on August 6, 2012.
The
rover's objectives include searching for life in Mars, studying the
Martian climate, studying the Martian geology, and collecting data
for a future manned mission to Mars.
Curiosity
is
about twice as long and five times heavier than the Spirit
or
Opportunity
Mars
exploration rovers (launched in June and July 2003),
and
carries over ten times the mass of scientific instruments.
It
will attempt a more accurate landing than previous rovers, within a
landing ellipse of 7 by 20 km (4.3 by 12 mi),
in
the Aeolis
Palus
region
of Gale Crater. This location is near the mountain Aeolis
Mons
(formerly
called "Mount Sharp").
It
is designed to explore for at least 687 Earth days (1 Martian year)
over a range of 5 by 20 km (3.1 by 12 mi).
The
Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program,
a long-term effort for the robotic exploration of Mars,
and the project is managed by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory
of California Institute of Technology.
When MSL launched, the program's director was Doug McCuistion
of
NASA's Planetary Science Division.
The
total cost of the MSL project is about US$2.5 billion.
Source:
Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org
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