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Mars Science Laboratory

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This article is about the spaceflight mission to Mars. For the rover surface science mission, see Curiosity rover.

Template:Infobox spacecraft

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012 at 05:14:39 UTC.[1][2][3][4] The Curiosity rover's objectives include determining Mars's habitability, studying its climate and exogeology, and collecting data for future human missions.[5] 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 and Opportunity Mars exploration rovers,[6] and carries over ten times the mass of scientific instruments.[7] It successfully carried out a more accurate landing than previous rovers, within a landing ellipse of 7 by 20 km (4.3 by 12.4 mi),[8] in the Aeolis Palus region of Gale Crater. This ___location is near the mountain Aeolis Mons (a.k.a. "Mount Sharp").[9][10] 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 12.4 mi).[11]

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.[12] The total cost of the MSL project is about US$2.5 billion.[13]

History

NASA called for proposals for the rover's scientific instruments in April 2004,[14] and eight proposals were selected on December 14 of that year.[14] Testing and design of components also began in late 2004, including Aerojet's designing of a monopropellant engine with the ability to throttle from 15–100 percent thrust with a fixed propellant inlet pressure.[14]

By November 2008 most hardware and software development was complete, but testing continued.[15] At this point, cost overruns were approximately $400 million.[16] The next month, NASA delayed the launch to late 2011 because of inadequate testing time.[17][18][19]

Between March 23–29, 2009, the general public ranked nine finalist rover names through a public poll on the NASA website.[20] On May 27, 2009, the winning name was announced to be Curiosity. It was submitted by a sixth-grader from Kansas, Clara Ma, in an essay contest.[20][21][22]

MSL launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011.[23] On January 11, 2012, the spacecraft successfully refined its trajectory with a three-hour series of thruster-engine firings, advancing the rover's landing time by about 14 hours.

Curiosity successfully landed in the Gale Crater at 05:14:39 UTC on August 6, 2012, and transmitted Hazcam images confirming orientation.

Goals and objectives

 
Three generations of U.S. Mars rovers

The MSL mission has four scientific goals:

  1. Determine whether Mars could ever have supported life.
  2. Study the climate of Mars.
  3. Study the geology of Mars.
  4. Plan for a human mission to Mars.

To contribute to these goals, MSL has six main scientific objectives:[5][24]

  1. Determine the mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials.
  2. Attempt to detect chemical building blocks of life (biosignatures).
  3. Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils.
  4. Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes.
  5. Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide.
  6. Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons.

As part of its exploration, it is measuring the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it travels to Mars, important data for a future manned mission.[25]

Specifications

Spacecraft

The entire spacecraft weighs 3,893 kg (8,583 lb) at launch, consisting of 899 kg (1,982 lb) rover; 2,401 kg (5,293 lb) entry, descent and landing system (aeroshell plus descent stage + 390 kg (860 lb) of landing propellant); and 539 kg (1,188 lb) fueled cruise stage.[26]

Rover

 
Color-coded rover diagram

The Curiosity rover has a mass of 900 kg (2,000 lb) including 80 kg (180 lb) of scientific instruments, by the time it landed on the surface of Mars.[6]

  • Dimensions: The rover is 3 m (9.8 ft) in length, much larger than the Mars Exploration Rovers, which have a length of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and a mass of 174 kg (384 lb) including 6.8 kg (15 lb) of scientific instruments.[6][27][28]
  • Speed: Once on the surface, Curiosity will be able to roll over obstacles approaching 75 cm (30 in) in height. Maximum terrain-traverse speed is estimated to be 90 m (300 ft) per hour by automatic navigation; average traverse speeds will likely be about 30 m (98 ft) per hour, based on variables including power levels, terrain difficulty, slippage, and visibility. MSL is expected to traverse a minimum of 19 km (12 mi) in its two-year mission.[29]
Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments.[30][31] Curiosity's RTG is fueled by 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy,[32] packed in 32 pellets each about the size of a marshmallow.[6]
Curiosity's power generator is the latest RTG generation built by Boeing, called the "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" or MMRTG.[33] Based on classical RTG technology, it represents a more flexible and compact development step,[33] and is designed to produce 125 watts of electrical power from about 2000 watts of thermal power at the start of the mission.[30][31] The MMRTG produces less power over time as its plutonium fuel decays: at its minimum lifetime of 14 years, electrical power output is down to 100 watts.[34][35] The MSL will generate 2.5 kilowatt hours per day, much more than the Mars Exploration Rovers, which can generate about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day.
  • Heat rejection system: The temperatures in the potential areas at which Curiosity may land can vary from +30 to −127 °C (+86 °F to −197 °F). Therefore, the heat rejection system (HRS) uses fluid pumped through 60 m (200 ft) of tubing in the MSL body so that sensitive components are kept at optimal temperatures.[36] Other methods of heating the internal components include using radiated heat generated from the components in the craft itself, as well as excess heat from the MMRTG unit. The HRS also has the ability to cool components if necessary.[36]
  • Computers: The two identical on-board rover computers, called "Rover Compute Element" (RCE), contain radiation-hardened memory to tolerate the extreme radiation from space and to safeguard against power-off cycles. Each computer's memory includes 256 KB of EEPROM, 256 MB of DRAM, and 2 GB of flash memory.[37] This compares to 3 MB of EEPROM, 128 MB of DRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory used in the Mars Exploration Rovers.[38]
The RCE computers use the RAD750 CPU, which is a successor to the RAD6000 CPU used in the Mars Exploration Rovers.[39][40] The RAD750 CPU is capable of up to 400 MIPS, while the RAD6000 CPU is capable of up to 35 MIPS.[41][42] Of the two on-board computers, one is configured as backup, and will take over in the event of problems with the main computer.[37]
The rover has an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that provides 3-axis information on its position, which is used in rover navigation.[37] The rover's computers are constantly self-monitoring to keep the rover operational, such as by regulating the rover's temperature.[37] Activities such as taking pictures, driving, and operating the instruments are performed in a command sequence that is sent from the flight team to the rover.[37]
See also: Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers
  • Communications: Curiosity has two means of communication – an X band transmitter and receiver that can communicate directly with Earth, and a UHF Electra-Lite software-defined radio for communicating with Mars orbiters. Communication with orbiters is expected to be the main path for data return to Earth, since the orbiters have both more power and larger antennas than the lander.[43]
At landing, telemetry will be monitored by the Mars Odyssey satellite, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's Mars Express. Odyssey is capable of relaying UHF telemetry back to Earth in real time, which will take 13:46 minutes.[44][45]
  • Mobility systems: Like previous rovers Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Pathfinder, Curiosity is equipped with 6 wheels in a rocker-bogie suspension. The suspension system will also serve as landing gear for the vehicle, unlike its smaller predecessors.[46] Curiosity has wheels which are significantly larger than those used on previous rovers. Each wheel has a pattern that helps it maintain traction but also leaves patterned tracks in the sandy surface of Mars. That pattern is used by on-board cameras to judge the distance traveled. The pattern itself is Morse code for "JPL" (·--- ·--· ·-··).[47]
  •  
    Curiosity was tested and assembled in 2010.
  •  
    Curiosity in May 2011
  •  
    Tread pattern allows estimation of the distance to imprint. The pattern is Morse code for "JPL", one center that worked on MSL.
  •  
    Small Deep Space Transponder

Instruments

Instrument
Team
  Canada
  France
  Finland
  Germany
  United Kingdom
  Russia
  Spain
  United States

The following instruments were selected. Most are on the rover, but some are installed on other components.

  • Cameras: Curiosity has seventeen cameras overall.[48] MastCam, MAHLI, and MARDI cameras were developed by Malin Space Science Systems and they all share common design components, such as on-board electronic imaging processing boxes, 1600×1200 CCDs, and a RGB Bayer pattern filter.[49][50][51][52][53][54]
    • MastCam: This system provides multiple spectra and true color imaging with two cameras.[50] The cameras can take true color images at 1600×1200 pixels and up to 10 frames per second hardware-compressed, high-definition video at 720p (1280×720). One camera is the Medium Angle Camera (MAC) that has a 34 mm focal length, a 15-degree field of view, and can yield 22 cm/pixel scale at 1 km. The other camera is the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) which has a 100 mm focal length, a 5.1-degree field of view, and can yield 7.4 cm/pixel scale at 1 km.[50] Malin also developed a pair of Mastcams with zoom lenses,[55] but these were not included in the final design because of time required to test the new hardware and the looming November 2011 launch date.[56] Each camera has 8 GB of flash memory, which is capable of storing over 5,500 raw images, and can apply real time lossless or JPEG compression.[50] The cameras have an autofocus capability that allows them to focus on objects from 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) to infinity.[53] Each camera also has a RGB Bayer pattern filter with 8 filter positions.[50] In comparison to the 1024×1024 black and white panoramic cameras used on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER), the MAC MastCam has 1.25× higher spatial resolution and the NAC MastCam has 3.67× higher spatial resolution.[53]
    • Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): This system consists of a camera mounted to a robotic arm on the rover, used to acquire microscopic images of rock and soil. MAHLI can take true color images at 1600×1200 pixels with a resolution as high as 14.5 micrometers per pixel. MAHLI has a 18.3 mm to 21.3 mm focal length and a 33.8- to 38.5-degree field of view.[51] MAHLI has both white and ultraviolet LED illumination for imaging in darkness or fluorescence imaging. MAHLI also has mechanical focusing in a range from infinite to millimetre distances.[51] This system can make some images with focus stacking processing.[57] MAHLI can store either the raw images or do real time lossless predictive or JPEG compression.[51]
    • MSL Mars Descent Imager (MARDI): During the descent to the Martian surface, MARDI will take color images at 1600×1200 pixels with a 1.3-millisecond exposure time starting at distances of about 3.7 km to near 5 meters from the ground and will take images at a rate of 5 frames per second for about 2 minutes.[52][58] MARDI has a pixel scale of 1.5 meters at 2 km to 1.5 millimeters at 2 meters and has a 90-degree circular field of view. MARDI has 8 GB of internal buffer memory that is capable of storing over 4,000 raw images. MARDI imaging will allow the mapping of surrounding terrain and the ___location of landing.[52] JunoCam, built for the Juno spacecraft, is based on MARDI.[59]
  • ChemCam: ChemCam is a suite of remote sensing instruments, including the first laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system to be used for planetary science and a remote micro-imager (RMI).[60][61] The LIBS instrument can target a rock or soil sample from up to 7 meters away, vaporizing a small amount of it with a 5-nanosecond pulse from a 1067 nm infrared laser and then collecting a spectrum of the light emitted by the vaporized rock. Detection of the ball of luminous plasma will be done in the visible and near-UV and near-IR range, between 240 nm and 800 nm.[60]
ChemCam includes the Remote Micro Imager (RMI) with 100 microradian resolution and 1024 by 1024 pixels.[62] It uses the same optics and provides context images for LIBS analysis spots. The RMI resolves 1 mm objects at 10 m distance, and has a field of view covering 20 cm at that distance.[60] The ChemCam instrument suite was developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French CESR laboratory.[60][63][64][65]
NASA's cost for ChemCam is approximately $10M, including an overrun of about $1.5M,[66] which is less than 1/200th of the total mission costs.[67] The flight model of the Mast Unit was delivered from the French CNES to Los Alamos National Laboratory and was able to deliver the engineering model to JPL in February 2008.[68]
Main article: APXS
  • CheMin: CheMin is the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence instrument[72] CheMin is one of four spectrometers. It will identify and quantify the abundance of the minerals on Mars. It was developed by David Blake at NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[73] The rover will drill samples into rocks and the resulting fine powder will be sampled by the instrument. A beam of X-rays is then directed at the powder and the internal crystal structure of the minerals deflects back a pattern of X-rays. All minerals diffract X-rays in a characteristic pattern that allows scientists to identify the structure of the minerals the rover will encounter.
Main article: Sample Analysis at Mars
  • Radiation assessment detector (RAD): This instrument was the first of ten MSL instruments to be turned on. On the route to Mars and while working on its surface, it will characterize the broad spectrum of radiation environment found inside the spacecraft. These measurements were never done before from the inside of a spacecraft and their main purpose is to determine the viability and shielding needs for human explorers.[78] Funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and Germany, RAD was developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the extraterrestrial physics group at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany.[78] Latest data here
  • Rover environmental monitoring station (REMS): Meteorological package and an ultraviolet sensor provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. The investigative team is led by Javier Gómez-Elvira of the Center for Astrobiology (Madrid) and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a partner.[82][83] It is mounted on the camera mast and can measure atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind currents and direction, air and ground temperature and ultraviolet radiation levels. All sensors are located around three elements: two booms attached to the rover Remote Sensing Mast (RSM), the Ultraviolet Sensor (UVS) assembly located on the rover top deck, and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) inside the rover body. REMS will provide new clues about signature of the Martian general circulation, microscale weather systems, local hydrological cycle, destructive potential of UV radiation, and subsurface habitability based on ground-atmosphere interaction.[82]
  • MSL entry descent and landing instrumentation (MEDLI): The MEDLI project’s main objective is to measure aerothermal environments, sub-surface heat shield material response, vehicle orientation, and atmospheric density for the atmospheric entry through the sensible atmosphere down to heat shield separation of the Mars Science Laboratory entry vehicle.[84] The MEDLI instrumentation suite will be installed in the heatshield of the MSL entry vehicle. The acquired data will support future Mars missions by providing measured atmospheric data to validate Mars atmosphere models and clarify the lander design margins on future Mars missions. MEDLI instrumentation consists of three main subsystems: MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs (MISP), Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System (MEADS) and the Sensor Support Electronics (SSE).
  • Hazard avoidance cameras (Hazcams): The rover has two pairs of black and white navigation cameras located on the four corners of the rover.[85][86] They are used for autonomous hazard avoidance during rover drives and for safe positioning of the robotic arm on rocks and soils.[85] The cameras use visible light to capture stereoscopic three-dimensional (3-D) imagery.[85] The cameras have a 120 degree field of view and map the terrain at up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in front of the rover.[85] This imagery safeguards against the rover inadvertently crashing into unexpected obstacles, and works in tandem with software that allows the rover to make its own safety choices.[85]

Launch vehicle

 
The MSL launched from Cape Canaveral.

MSL was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41 on November 26, 2011, at 10:02:00.0 EST (15:02:00.0 UTC) via the Atlas V 541 provided by United Launch Alliance. This two stage rocket includes a 3.8 m (12 ft) Common Core Booster (CCB) powered by a single RD-180 engine, four solid rocket boosters (SRB), and one Centaur III with a 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter payload fairing. The NASA Launch Services Program coordinated the launch via the NASA Launch Services (NLS) I Contract.

This vehicle is capable of launching up to 7,982 kg (17,597 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit. The Atlas V has also been used to launch the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the New Horizons probe.[88][89]

The first and second stage along with the solid rocket motors were stacked on October 9, 2011, near the launch pad.[90] The fairing containing MSL was transported to the launch pad on November 3, 2011.[91]

Landing

Landing a large mass on Mars is particularly challenging as the atmosphere is too thin for parachutes and aerobraking alone to be effective[92] while remaining thick enough to create stability problems when decelerating with rockets.[92] Although some previous missions have used airbags to cushion the shock of landing, Curiosity rover is too heavy for this to be an option. Instead, Curiosity set down on the Martian surface using a new high-precision entry, descent, and landing (EDL) system which placed it within a 20 by 7 km (12.4 by 4.3 mi) landing ellipse,[93] in contrast to the 150 by 20 km (93 by 12 mi) landing ellipse of the landing systems used by the Mars Exploration Rovers.[94] The landing sequence alone requires six vehicle configurations, 76 pyrotechnic devices, the largest supersonic parachute ever built, and more than 500,000 lines of code, in a final sequence that was dubbed "seven minutes of terror" by NASA.[95] The spacecraft employed several systems in a precise order, with the entry, descent and landing sequence broken down into four parts.[96][97]

  1. Guided entry: The rover is folded up within an aeroshell that protects it during the travel through space and during the atmospheric entry at Mars. Ten minutes before atmospheric entry the aeroshell separates from the cruise stage that provided power, communications and propulsion during the long flight to Mars. One minute after separation from the cruise stage thrusters on the aeroshell fire to cancel out the spacecraft's 2-rpm rotation and achieve an orientation with the heat shield facing Mars in preparation for Atmospheric entry.[98] The heat shield is made of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator. The 4.5 m (15 ft) diameter heat shield, which is the largest heat shield ever flown in space,[99] reduces the velocity of the spacecraft by ablation against the Martian atmosphere, from the atmospheric interface velocity of approximately 5.8 km/s (3.6 mi/s) down to approximately 470 m/s (1,500 ft/s), where parachute deployment is possible about four minutes later. One minute and 15 seconds after entry the heat shield will experience peak temperatures of up to 3,800 °F (2,090 °C) as atmospheric pressure converts kinetic energy into heat. Ten seconds after peak heating, that deceleration will max out at 15 g.[98] Much of the reduction of the landing precision error is accomplished by an entry guidance algorithm, derived from the algorithm used for guidance of the Apollo Command Modules returning to Earth in the Apollo space program.[98] This guidance uses the lifting force experienced by the aeroshell to "fly out" any detected error in range and thereby arrive at the targeted landing site. In order for the aeroshell to have lift, its center of mass is offset from the axial centerline that results in an off-center trim angle in atmospheric flight. This is accomplished by a series of ejectable ballast masses consisting of two 165 pound (75 kg) tungsten weights that are jettisoned minutes before atmospheric entry.[98] The lift vector is controlled by four sets of two Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters that produce approximately 500 N (110 lbf) of thrust per pair. This ability to change the pointing of the direction of lift allows the spacecraft to react to the ambient environment, and steer toward the landing zone. Prior to parachute deployment the entry vehicle must eject more ballast mass consisting of six 55 lb (25 kg) tungsten weights such that the center of gravity offset is removed.[98]
     
    MSL's parachute is 51 ft (16 m) in diameter.
  2. Parachute descent: When the entry phase is complete and the capsule has slowed to Mach 1.7 or 578 m/s (1,900 ft/s) and at about 10 km (6.2 mi) the supersonic parachute will deploy,[94][100] as was done by previous landers such as Viking, Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers. The parachute has 80 suspension lines, is over 50 m (160 ft) long, and is about 16 m (52 ft) in diameter.[100] The parachute is capable of being deployed at Mach 2.2 and can generate up to 289 kN (65,000 lbf) of drag force in the Martian atmosphere.[100] After the parachute has deployed, the heat shield will separate and fall away. A camera beneath the rover will acquire about 5 frames per second (with resolution of 1600×1200 pixels) below 3.7 km (2.3 mi) during a period of about 2 minutes until the rover sensors confirms successful landing.[101]
  3. Powered descent: Following the parachute braking, at about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) altitude, still travelling at about 100 m/s (220 mph), the rover and descent stage drop out of the aeroshell.[94] The descent stage is a platform above the rover with 8 variable thrust mono propellant hydrazine rocket thrusters on arms extending around this platform to slow the descent. Each rocket thruster, called a Mars Lander Engine (MLE),[102] produces 400 N (90 lbf) to 3,100 N (700 lbf) of thrust and were derived from those used on the Viking landers.[103] Meanwhile, the rover will transform from its stowed flight configuration to a landing configuration while being lowered beneath the descent stage by the "sky crane" system.
     
    This artist's concept depicts the rocket-powered descent stage's sky crane lowering the Curiosity rover.
  4. Sky crane: For several reasons a different landing system was chosen for MSL compared to previous Mars landers and rovers. Curiosity was considered too heavy to use the airbag landing system as used on the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration. A legged lander approach would have caused several design problems.[98] It would have needed to have engines high enough above the ground when landing to not form a dust cloud that could damage the rover's instruments. This would have required long landing legs that would need to have significant width to keep the center of gravity low. A legged Lander would have also required ramps so the rover could drive down to the surface, which would incurred extra risk to the mission on the chance rocks or tilt would prevent Curiosity from being able to drive off the lander successfully. Faced with these challenges, the MSL engineers came up with a novel alternative solution: the sky crane.[98] The sky crane system will lower the rover with a 25 ft (7.6 m)[98] tether to a soft landing—wheels down—on the surface of Mars.[94][104][105] This system consists of 3 bridles lowering the rover and an umbilical cable carrying electrical signals between the descent stage and rover. As the support and data cables unreel, the rover's six motorized wheels will snap into position. At roughly 7.5 m (25 ft) below the descent stage the sky crane system slows to a halt and the rover touches down. After the rover touches down it waits 2 seconds to confirm that it is on solid ground by detecting the weight on the wheels and fires several pyros (small explosive devices) activating cable cutters on the bridle and umbilical cords to free itself from the descent stage. The descent stage flies away to a crash landing at least 500 ft (150 m) away, and possibly twice that far. The sky crane powered descent landing system had never been used in missions before.[106]
  •  
    Curiosity landing diagram for entry into the Martian atmosphere.
  •  
    Curiosity landing diagram for parachute descent, powered descent, and sky crane.

Landing site

 
The first picture taken by Curiosity on Mars, transmitted home only minutes after landing. Curiosity's wheel can be seen on the Martian soil.
 
Planned landing ellipses on Aeolis Palus within Gale Crater[107][93] - North is down

Gale Crater is the MSL landing site.[108][109][107] Within Gale Crater is a mountain, named Aeolis Mons (i.e. "Mount Sharp"),[110][9][10] of layered rocks, rising about 5.5 km (18,000 ft) above the crater floor, that Curiosity will investigate. The landing site is a smooth region called Aeolis Palus inside the crater in front of the mountain. The landing site is elliptical, 20 by 7 km (12.4 by 4.3 mi).[93] Gale Crater's diameter is 154 km (96 mi).

The landing site contains material washed down from the wall of the crater, which will provide scientists with the opportunity to investigate the rocks that form the bedrock in this area. The landing ellipse also contains a rock type that is very dense, very brightly colored, and unlike any rock type previously investigated on Mars. It may be an ancient playa lake deposit, and it will likely be the mission's first target in checking for the presence of organic molecules.[111]

An area of top scientific interest for Curiosity lies at the edge of the landing ellipse and beyond a dark dune field. Here, orbiting instruments have detected signatures of both clay minerals and sulfate salts.[112] Scientists studying Mars have several hypotheses about how these minerals reflect changes in the Martian environment, particularly changes in the amount of water on the surface of Mars. The rover will use its full instrument suite to study these minerals and how they formed. Certain minerals, including the clay and sulfate-rich layers near the bottom of Gale's mountain, are good at latching onto organic compounds -potential biosignatures— and protecting them from oxidation.[113]

Two canyons were cut in the mound through the layers containing clay minerals and sulfate salts after deposition of the layers. These canyons expose layers of rock representing tens or hundreds of millions of years of environmental change. Curiosity may be able to investigate these layers in the canyon closest to the landing ellipse, gaining access to a long history of environmental change on the planet. The canyons also contain sediment that was transported by the water that cut the canyons;[114] this sediment interacted with the water, and the environment at that time may have been habitable. Thus, the rocks deposited at the mouth of the canyon closest to the landing ellipse form the third target in the search for organic molecules.[citation needed]

Landing site selection

A primary goal when selecting the landing site was to identify a particular geologic environment, or set of environments, that would support microbial life. Planners looked for a site that could contribute to a wide variety of possible science objectives. They preferred a landing site with both morphologic and mineralogic evidence for past water. Furthermore, a site with spectra indicating multiple hydrated minerals was preferred; clay minerals and sulfate salts would constitute a rich site. Hematite, other iron oxides, sulfate minerals, silicate minerals, silica, and possibly chloride minerals were suggested as possible substrates for fossil preservation. Indeed, all are known to facilitate the preservation of fossil morphologies and molecules on Earth.[115] Difficult terrain was favored for finding evidence of livable conditions, but the rover must be able to safely reach the site and drive within it.[116]

Engineering constraints called for a landing site less than 45° from the Martian equator, and less than 1 km above the reference datum.[117] At the first MSL Landing Site workshop, 33 potential landing sites were identified.[118] By the second workshop in late 2007, the list had grown to include almost 50 sites,[119] and by the end of the workshop, the list was reduced to six;[120][121][122] in November 2008, project leaders at a third workshop reduced the list to these four landing sites:[123][124][125][126]

Name Location Elevation Notes
Eberswalde Crater Delta 23°52′S 326°44′E / 23.86°S 326.73°E / -23.86; 326.73 −1,450 m (−4,760 ft) Ancient river delta.[127]
Holden Crater Fan 26°22′S 325°06′E / 26.37°S 325.10°E / -26.37; 325.10 −1,940 m (−6,360 ft) Dry lake bed.[128]
Gale Crater 4°29′S 137°25′E / 4.49°S 137.42°E / -4.49; 137.42 −4,451 m (−14,603 ft) Features 5 km (3.1 mi) tall mountain
of layered material near center.[129] Selected.[107]
Mawrth Vallis Site 2 24°01′N 341°02′E / 24.01°N 341.03°E / 24.01; 341.03 −2,246 m (−7,369 ft) Channel carved by catastrophic floods.[130]

A fourth landing site workshop was held in late September 2010,[131] and the fifth and final workshop May 16–18, 2011.[132] On July 22, 2011, it was announced that Gale Crater had been selected as the landing site of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

MSL landed on August 5 2012 at 10:32 PM PDT (05:32 6 August 2012 UTC.)[133][134][108][109][107]

Videos

The MSL launches from Cape Canaveral
Curiosity's entry and landing as explained by NASA

See also

References

  1. ^ NASA – Mars Science Laboratory, the Next Mars Rover
  2. ^ Allard Beutel (November 19, 2011). "NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Launch Rescheduled for Nov. 26". NASA. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Grotzinger, John P. (August 3, 2012). "Boldly Opening a New Window Onto Mars". New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  4. ^ "NASA - Curiosity Lands on Mars". Nasa.gov. April 17, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Overview". JPL. NASA. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Watson, Traci (April 14, 2008). "Troubles parallel ambitions in NASA Mars project". USA Today. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  7. ^ Mann, Adam (June 25, 2012). "What NASA's Next Mars Rover Will Discover". Wired Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  8. ^ "NASA Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site". NASA/JPL. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Agle, D. C. (March 28, 2012). "'Mount Sharp' On Mars Links Geology's Past and Future". NASA. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
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