Mars Science Laboratory: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 08:18, 6 August 2012

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'''Mars Science Laboratory''' ('''MSL''') is a [[ robotic spacecraft|robotic]] [[space probe]] mission to Mars launched by [[NASA]] on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''[[Curiosity rover|Curiosity]]'', a [[Mars rover]], in [[Gale (crater)|Gale Crater]] on August 6, 2012 at 05:1432:3954 [[UTC]].<ref>{{cite nameweb|url="NASA-1">[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pagesrss/msl/indexmsllanding_update.htmlxml NASA|title=MSL –Landing Updates |publisher=Nasa.gov |date=2012-08-06 |accessdate=2012-08-06}}</ref> The ''Curiosity'' rover's objectives include determining Mars's Science[[Planetary Laboratoryhabitability|habitability]], thestudying Nextits [[Climate of Mars|climate]] Roverand [[Planetary geology|exogeology]</ref>], and collecting data for future [[manned mission to Mars|human missions]].<ref name="NASA-2overview"/> The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.

{{cite web |url=http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1185 |title=NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Launch Rescheduled for Nov. 26 |author=Allard Beutel |date=November 19, 2011 |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=November 21, 2011}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20120803">

{{cite news |last=Grotzinger |first=John P. |authorlink=John P. Grotzinger |title=Boldly Opening a New Window Onto Mars |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/opinion/grotzinger-boldly-opening-a-new-window-onto-mars.html |date=August 3, 2012 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=August 4, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/mars/curiosity_news3.html |title=NASA - Curiosity Lands on Mars |publisher=Nasa.gov |date=2012-04-17 |accessdate=2012-08-06}}</ref> The ''Curiosity'' rover's objectives include determining Mars's [[Planetary habitability|habitability]], studying its [[Climate of Mars|climate]] and [[Planetary geology|exogeology]], and collecting data for future [[manned mission to Mars|human missions]].<ref name="overview"/> The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.

''Curiosity'' is about twice as long and five times as massive as the [[Spirit rover|''Spirit'']] and [[Opportunity rover|''Opportunity'']] Mars exploration rovers,<ref name="MSLUSAToday">{{cite news |title=Troubles parallel ambitions in NASA Mars project |work=USA Today |url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2008-04-13-mars_N.htm |date=April 14, 2008 |accessdate=May 27, 2009 | first=Traci | last=Watson}}</ref> and carries over ten times the mass of scientific instruments.<ref name="Wired-20120625">{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Adam |title=What NASA’s Next Mars Rover Will Discover |url=http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/msl-mars-new-discoveries/ |date=June 25, 2012 |publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired Magazine]] |accessdate=June 26, 2012 }}</ref> It successfully carried out a more accurate landing than previous rovers, within a landing ellipse of {{convert|7|by|20|km|mi|abbr=on}},<ref name="Updated landing area">{{cite web|title=NASA Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120611.html|publisher=NASA/JPL |accessdate=May 15, 2012 }}</ref> in the [[Aeolis Palus]] region of Gale Crater. This ___location is near the mountain [[Aeolis Mons]] (a.k.a. "Mount Sharp").<ref name="NASA-20120328">{{cite web |last=Agle |first=D. C.|title='Mount Sharp' On Mars Links Geology's Past and Future|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120328.html|date=March 28, 2012 |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=March 31, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Space-20120329">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=NASA's New Mars Rover Will Explore Towering 'Mount Sharp'|url=http://www.space.com/15097-mars-mountain-sharp-curiosity-rover.html|date=March 29, 2012 |publisher=[[Space.com]] |accessdate=March 30, 2012 }}</ref> It is designed to explore for at least 687 Earth days (1 Martian year) over a range of {{convert|5|by|20|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="MSL-main_page">{{cite web|title=Mars Science Laboratory: Mission |url=http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/|publisher=NASA/JPL |accessdate=March 12, 2010 }}</ref>