Curiosity heads for Mars

Mars Science Laboratory or MSL has been launched successfully on Nov 26 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It will take 8 months to reach Mars. It contains a car sized rover named Curiosity.

Curiosity blasts off in the backdrop of Atlantic Ocean

It is interesting how the rover got its name! In 2009 NASA conducted a contest among US students to name the rover and write an essay about it. Finally, from more than 9000 entries, the name 'Curiosity' was chosen. The winning entry was written by a 6th grader Clara Ma. She has even signed on the rover.

Clara Ma, who named Curiosity

Clara signs Curiosity at JPL clean room

The mission's main objective is to find out if Mars have or ever had an environment to support life. It will not look for the life itself though! The rover will analyze the samples scooped up from soil and drilled from rocks.

The MSL is much heavier and improved than any of the previous rovers ever landed on Mars. It is expected to operate for 1 full martian year, i.e. almost two earth years. It will get its power from a radio isotope power generator which uses the heat generated by Plutonium-238's radioactive decay.

Curiosity will land on the foot of a layered mountain inside the Gale Crater. Layers of this mountain contains minerals that are known to form in water.

Gale crater: selected site the Curiosity landing

It has several scientific instruments (Fact sheet) that will sample and analyze the air and surface, cameras to provide high resolution close ups and stereo pictures, a laser to zap rocks and get their spectra (which yields their composition), and even a camera that will take video of the last two minutes of its descent to the surface to provide aerial context for its cameras once it lands.

The Curiosity Rover (3D Version in full size)

To know more and keep track of the mission visit NASA MSL website:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html