Are You Curious about the New $2.5 Billion Mars Rover Set to Launch This Weekend?
- Posted on November 22, 2011 at 6:48pm by
Liz Klimas
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (The Blaze/AP) — As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA’s newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.
Curiosity's head. (Photo: NASA)
Nicknamed Curiosity and scheduled for launch on Saturday, the rover has a 7-foot arm tipped with a jackhammer and a laser to break through the Martian red rock. What really makes it stand out: It can analyze rocks and soil with unprecedented accuracy.
“This is a Mars scientist’s dream machine,” said NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ashwin Vasavada, the deputy project scientist.
Once on the red planet, Curiosity will be on the lookout for organic, carbon-containing compounds. While the rover can’t actually detect the presence of living organisms, scientists hope to learn from the $2.5 billion, nuclear-powered mission whether Mars has — or ever had — what it takes to nurture microbial life.
Here’s an explanation of the mission from NASA:
Curiosity will be “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet,” said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA’s Mars exploration program.
Ten feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall at its mast, Curiosity is about twice the size of previous rovers Spirit and Opportunity, weighs 1 ton and is loaded with 10 science instruments. Its formal name: Mars Science Laboratory, or MSL.
In a spacecraft first, Curiosity will be lowered to Mars’ surface via a jet pack and a tether system similar to the sky cranes used by helicopters to insert heavy equipment in inaccessible spots on Earth. No bouncing air bags like those used for the Mars Pathfinder lander and rover in 1997 and for Spirit and Opportunity in 2004 — Curiosity is too heavy for that.
Artist's rendering of Curiosity approaching Mars. (Image: NASA)
It is the kind of precision landing that officials said will benefit future human explorers on Mars.
Here’s a simulation of how Curiosity will land on Mars:
The rover is scheduled to arrive at the mineral-rich Gale Crater next August, 8½ months after embarking on the 354-million-mile voyage aboard an Atlas V rocket.
It’s a treacherous journey to Mars, and the road is littered with failures. In all, more than three dozen missions have aimed over the decades at the most Earth-like planet known, and fewer than half have succeeded. Of this flotilla, only one lander is still working on the dry, barren, cold surface — Opportunity — and only three craft still are observing the planet from orbit. But a time-lapsed video of pictures taken by the now dead rover Spirit was recently released, giving viewers an idea of what a five year mission on Mars looks like.
In fact, Russia’s latest Mars probe remains stuck in orbit around Earth two weeks after its botched launch. NASA has had better luck at Mars, although it has lost a few spacecraft there.
“Mars is difficult, and so many things have to go right for a mission to work,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars exploration program.
Curiosity is the capstone of what NASA calls the year of the solar system. A spacecraft is en route to Jupiter after lifting off last August from Cape Canaveral, and twin lunar probes launched in September will arrive at the moon New Year’s weekend.
A huge crowd — 13,500 invited guests — is expected for Curiosity’s Thanksgiving weekend send-off.
There will be more anxiety than usual over the launch. Curiosity holds 10.6 pounds of plutonium, more than enough to power the rover on the Martian surface for two years. A nuclear generator won out over solar energy because it allows for a bigger workload and more flexibility. The plutonium is encased in several protective layers in case of a launch accident.
Once safely down on Mars, the rover will survey the landscape with high-definition and laser cameras mounted like eyes atop its mast. The laser will aim at soil and rocks as far as 20 feet away to gauge their chemical composition.
The rover also has a weather station for updates on Martian temperature, humidity and wind, as well as a radiation detector that will be especially useful for planning human expeditions.
Despite all its fancy upgrades, Curiosity will go no faster than the one-tenth-mile-per-hour logged by past Martian rovers. But it is expected to venture more than 12 miles during its two-year mission. If it’s still working after that, it will keep on trucking, possibly all the way up the crater’s 3-mile peak.
The next logical step in Mars exploration, said Cornell University’s Steve Squyres, who led the science team for Spirit and Opportunity, would be a robotic mission to deliver Mars samples to Earth for analysis. NASA hopes to pull that off later this decade, but the project is on Congress’ chopping block.
Squyres warned that without such missions, U.S. leadership in science won’t just be challenged — “it’s going to go away.”
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Comments (43)
the point
Posted on November 24, 2011 at 9:48am$2.5 billion ? That is just pocket change to Obama. Or, so he thinks.
Report Post »biguglytrux
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 11:55pmHow well can the “radiation detector” work, when there’s TEN POUNDS of plutonium on the ship? And wow, man, Thanksgiving weekend launch? They should call it the “Mayflower”, or “Pilgrim”. But seriously, this report said that the Russian craft launched a couple of weeks ago, bound for Mars, was broke down, in Earth’s orbit? And now, right at the same time, we’re going there, too? Can you say, “boob bait for the bubbas”? Sounds to me like we’re still in a space race, or maybe, even, a space war.
Report Post »jlfonz
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 9:50pmFor cripes sakes, When are they gonna send up the algae to get the terra-forming ball rolling? They’ve all ready determined many types of algae that will work well
Report Post »busybrain
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 4:19pmI am amazed by all the people who consider space exploration to be a waste of money. The amount of technological advances that are a result of this type of activity has changed our lives and who knows…may save our lives one day. Of course the other point is…This is another true example of American Exceptionalism…we should embrace it.
Report Post »TennesseeConservative
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 6:41pmI agree completely, I love this stuff, always have. We should be exploring all the planets and space itself. Great benefits for society have come from space exploration, amazing technology we all take for granted, came from the space program. I disagree with the base premise of exploring to prove that Life came from external organic sources i.e. evolution, instead of admiring our creators Genius, and a profound admiration for his Greatness. We should be exploring to see what benefits exist out there, to help all peoples. Generally to be humbled before a Divine Sovereign, and sincerely admire our GOD.
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 11:29pmI love Space research, but I do not feel this is the time to that kind of money on this. We have other pressing matters right now. As it is, they have cut a lot from defense, and considering war may seem to be on the horizon, not sure if that was a good idea.
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 4:09pmI’m curious as to why we waste money on this junk?
Report Post »And don‘t agravate me by say it’s a job creator!
Joe Bonham
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 5:45pmWhy would that “aggravate” you? Because its TRUE? NASA not only creates jobs – it has developed literally thousands of technological innovations, most of which end up in the open market and have immediate positive effects on the economy.
NASA’s entire budget is a tiny fraction of what we spend waging war across the globe. Imagine if we spent all those trillions of dollars on space exploration, instead of killing people. Its true that sometimes astronauts die, but all of our astronaut fatalities and injuries combined don‘t come anywhere even close to the number of people we’ve lost just in Iraq alone.
Report Post »siralien
Posted on November 24, 2011 at 2:41pm@Joe Bonham
Report Post »Really? What about the trillions being wasted on national debt INTEREST paid in next 10 years to pay for un-necessary social programs in addition to wars. More will be spent on national debt interest in 10 years than both recent wars combined. Every dollar spent on interest is one dollar less that can be spent on those that truly need our help. Every dollar spent to pay back the debt principal is one dollar less that can be spent on infrastructure. Get a clue.
Krutch
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 3:59pmMoving the muslims to Mars might be a good idea, but it is already a desolate terrain and they will have nothing to destroy and nobody other than themselves to murder! But it would be a start!!!
Report Post »texfischer
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 1:20pmWow, $2.5 billion on something as useless as this.
Report Post »mcFirst
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 10:52amwhere are all the pics from the other missions. something is up.
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 10:25amIt’s time we get the Genesis Project going and transform the moon. Calling Dr. Carol Marcus… Calling Dr. Marcus… please get this project started and don’t let your(‘s and Shatner’s) son use protomatter this time. It don‘t work and it’s unethical.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 10:17amPreaching to the choir with me Antiepa. Our not so distant future should be the moon; not Mars. Once we utilize the resources that the moon has, we can then step off to greater horizons. BO’s an idiot; there, I said it. I could say far worse, but that will have to be for another time. Let’s get back to the moon before the Chinese beat us to the punch and take that opportunity from us. :)
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 10:17amI’m only curious about one thing. Why?
Report Post »How much money will the government confiscate from taxpayers to continue this crap? Are there any fools stupid enough to think there is a need to travel to Mars or anywhere else? It’s nothing more than a ruse to employ tens of thousands of people, giving them lucrative pensions, lifetime healthcare, and forcing taxpayers to support them AND THEIR FAMILIES in high style for the rest of their lives. It a pretend industry that is only necessary to the people who work and/or profit from it.
Our lives will be no better, and no worse, when they land some idiot on Mars. NASA is a smoke screen used to confiscate and pump billions of the Taxpayer‘s dollars into a few corrupt politician’s home states…in order to buy votes for re-election.
JeffinLondon
Posted on November 26, 2011 at 4:35amWe all know NASA’s contracting strategy mirrors the DOD… that is spread the money around ensuring the votes are there when the next budget request comes up. That’s the way Washington works.
But the science is real, learning about our neighbors will teach us a lot about Planet Earth and the origins of the solar system.
The name of the project – Curiosity says it all. When a man loses his curiosity he ceases to be a man.
Report Post »LukeAppling
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 9:58amLast week we went over the $15,000,000,000,000 mark in our debt and it rises by $4,000,000,000 per day today it is $15, 050,000,000,000! Our wonderful congress and President are AWOL in this battle.
Report Post »So Fla Kid
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 9:36amccprotect…There’s a rumor going around that Muhamid is hidding out on Mars. If the rover finds him all the Mooslims can all go there and finally live and peace and harmoney without us infidels forcing them to act like animals. :0
Report Post »antiepa
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:47amI support NASA but I think these exorbitant robotic Mars missions are way off target. Do you really think God put the moon right next to us for no reason? The Obama administration and the current NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden must think so. They‘ve set NASA’s current “manned mission” goals on ridiculously distant and expensive Lagrangians or asteroid. Such manned missions are economically unachievable and are destroying our nation’s manned space exploration scientific and engineering infrastructure. But then again, such a strategy achieves the Obama White House Science Czar John P. Holdren’s desire to “… de-develop the United States.” We need to explore and develop THE MOON as the most logical stepping stone to the rest of the solar system. It has a wealth of resources for industrial and commercial space development yet it is ignored to pursue scientific investigations with little near term payback. Cancelling the Constellation Program which included the Altair mission to the moon was a BIG mistake. We need to put men on the moon now while we still have a manned space program scientific & engineering infrastructure. The moon alone has a business case with potential for payback long before any multibillion dollar robotic probes that seek answers to riddles with little near term benefit to humanity here on earth. In these austere times, robotic missions, although fun, should be put on hold. TO THE MOON !!! .
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 9:17amTo those of you who want to privatize space… Love it. To those who want to open mineral rights as the basis and financing source for exploration… Love it.
Convince Obama to pull us out of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
“Article II
Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”
Our government agreed to this… It’s the same deal we made about Antarctica. Common property… No rights except to explore. This treaty HAS to go first and do you think that is going to happen?
Report Post »gwssacredcause
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:36am354 million miles away, maybe it would be more prudent to think about solving problems closer to home.
Report Post »wbalzley
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 7:51pmMany people said the same thing when the New World was discovered…its 10,000 miles away, we should be thinking about problems closer to home!
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:35amWhat we should be concerned with is the money and time wasted on NASA the last forty years. There‘s no way anything beneficial will ever come from Mars or that someone’s going to live there.
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:55am“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
— Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
— Western Union internal memo, 1876.
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
— Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”
— Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”
— Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
Be very careful of making such open-ended predictions. If we decided to do it and didn’t care what it cost… We could put 60,000 settlers on Mars within 50 years. But we‘re still trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to do it.
Report Post »Legal Immigrant
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 6:01amOccupy Mars
Report Post »Legal Immigrant
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 6:00amOccupy NASA
Report Post »grannyrecipe
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 5:54amI now believe in UFO’S…us!
Report Post »OmikeO
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 4:34amBeautiful!! Wish I could go there with it! Leaving that crap of Armageddon and everything that comes with it behind!
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 1:13amIf the launch and landing are not successful….Remember all the money spent on it was spent in Florida and with the companies that built it!
Report Post »Clifton
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 1:44amNot true, we were working on it here in California as well at JPL.
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:45amLast I checked, they source parts in 48 states… Everyone wants a piece of the action.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 12:08amThis project has been some ten years in the making. To stop it now would literally be throwing money away.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 12:10amPrivatize planetary exploration, with mineral rights as incentive, and I am sure there will be a “gold rush”.
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:48amIf only that were possible. We really need to abrogate the Outer Space Treaty first. But that would necessarily spark a new space race.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 12:06amIf it does not… build habitats… or convert resources into Air or Water… it is useless!
Report Post »wbalzley
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:00pmThe technology to get it there is the first step toward putting a PERSON on Mars. We have to prove that we can deliver heavy equipment safely to the surface of the Red Planet before we begin colonizing. We already sent several small machines, now we are sending an even larger machine. This is called iterative development.
Eventually we will either send inflatable habitats or construction equipment. BABY STEPS. We would much rather lose a $2.5 Billion dollar rover than a $100 Billion dollar habitat due to a miscalculation.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 11:56pmI am all about scientific research, but I do question this expense at this time. We are going broke. We should be exporing the moon again for mining it’s helium 3 rather then even thinking about Mars right now (even though Mars also has He3, the cost for shipping it to Earth is not practical). He3 is worth it since it would allow for true fusion power here on Earth that’s viable unlike Hydrogen which creates radical particles that would destroy the container linings making hydrogen fusion not practical. But BO, of course, killed our Moon mission and assigned NASA to make mulims happy duty. God, BO’s just gotta go. :)
Report Post »wbalzley
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 8:11pmThat is why we are turning local space development over to private industry. The moon is now within reach of commercial technology, and private companies should begin exploiting it. The moon is a rich source of minerals just waiting to be mined, but this should not be done by a government agency. NASA is about pushing the envelope and doing things which are too big or impractical for private industry
Report Post »ccprotect
Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:59pmi thought NASA’s main assigned was to make Muzzlums feel welcome, didnt think they did this kind of stuff anymore.
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on November 23, 2011 at 9:00amMaybe we’re gonna move the Muslims to Mars… LOL
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