Tech | November 25, 2011 | 9 comments

Giant Mars rover set for Saturday launch

source: http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/giant-mars-rover-set-for-launch-saturday/?hpt=hp_t3

Image
NASA’s biggest and most advanced Mars rover is scheduled for launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Curiosity is packed with 10 science experiments to determine whether Mars has ever been suitable for life and to find clues about past life forms that may have been preserved in rocks. NASA says Curiosity won’t answer the age-old questions about life on Mars, but it will provide important information that will guide future missions.

The launch was originally scheduled for Friday, but the mission team will take an extra day to remove and replace a flight termination system battery, NASA said.

Curiosity is expected to spend about two years roaming Mars, hunting things researchers say are essential for life to grow: liquid water, key chemicals used by living organisms and an energy source.

The rover will blast off Saturday atop an Atlas V rocket and is scheduled to land in August 2012 in the Gale Crater. The first opportunity for launch is 10:02 a.m. EST; the window lasts an hour and 43 minutes.

If the launch is postponed, NASA has until December 18 to get the spacecraft off the ground.

Curiosity is twice as long and five times as heavy as the older Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Its science instruments weigh 15 times as much as its predecessors' science payloads.

The rover has a mast that can extend to 7 feet (2.1 meters) to hoist a high-definition imaging system. It also will hold a laser-equipped camera that can zap rocks to study the sparks emitted for information about their composition.

A 7-foot-long robot arm will hold instruments for soil analysis. Unlike earlier rovers, Curiosity can gather rocks and soil to process inside its lab. The rover also has tools to look for water beneath the surface, to monitor the weather and to measure natural radiation.

Curiosity is designed to roll over obstacles up to 25 inches (about 65 centimeters) high and to travel about 660 feet (200 meters) per day. Its energy source will be a radioisotope power generator.

Landing will be tricky because of the rover’s size. As it descends, the spacecraft will make S-curve maneuvers like those used by shuttle astronauts. Three minutes before touchdown, a parachute and retrorockets will slow the spacecraft. Then, seconds before touchdown, an upper stage will act like a sky crane, lowering the upright rover on a tether to the surface.

When Curiosity arrives at Mars, three satellites already in orbit will be listening: NASA’s Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express. The spacecraft will be positioned to receive transmissions about Curiosity’s status and relay information to Earth.

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/giant-mars-rover-set-for-launch-satur...
  1. groups:
    Community,   Tech,   Earth and Science,   Science
  2. tags:
    Mars,  Curiosity
  3.     
    |

9 comments // Giant Mars rover set for Saturday launch

  • EmperorThan
  • artemis6
    • +2
      artemis6  

    • IF we had spent all the money we spent on WAR , on space exploration , well , where we MIGHT be , tantalizes the imagination ?

    • 6 months ago
  • artemis6
  • Progresshiv
  • HappyHeartJeff
  • Progresshiv
  • HappyHeartJeff
  • HappyHeartJeff
    • +4
      HappyHeartJeff [removed]  

    • NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission is preparing to set
      down a large, mobile laboratory — the rover Curiosity — using
      precision landing technology that makes many of Mars’ most
      intriguing regions viable destinations for the first time. During
      the 23 months after landing, Curiosity will analyze dozens of
      samples drilled from rocks or scooped from the ground as it
      explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover.
      Curiosity will carry the most advanced payload of scientific
      gear ever used on Mars’ surface, a payload more than
      10 times as massive as those of earlier Mars rovers. Its assignment:
      Investigate whether conditions have been favorable
      for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about
      possible past life.

      http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mars-science-laboratory.pdf

    • 6 months ago
  • HappyHeartJeff
    • +4
      HappyHeartJeff [removed]  

    • PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is tucked inside its Atlas V rocket, ready for launch on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Nov. 26 launch window extends from 7:02 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. PST (10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST). The launch period for the mission extends through Dec. 18.

      The spacecraft, which will arrive at Mars in August 2012, is equipped with the most advanced rover ever to land on another planet. Named Curiosity, the rover will investigate whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life, and favorable for preserving clues about whether life existed.

      On Nov. 26, NASA Television coverage of the launch will begin at 4:30 a.m. PST (7:30 a.m. EST). Live launch coverage will be carried on all NASA Television channels. For NASA Television downlink information, schedule information and streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv .
 The launch coverage will also be streamed live on Ustream at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl .

      If the spacecraft lifts off at the start of the launch window on Nov. 26, the following milestones are anticipated. Times would vary for other launch times and dates.

      Launch

      --The rocket's first-stage common core booster, and the four solid rocket boosters, will ignite before liftoff. Launch, or "T Zero", actually occurs before the rocket leaves the ground. The four solid rocket boosters jettison at launch plus one minute and 52 seconds.

      Fairing Separation

      --The nose cone, or fairing, carrying Mars Science Laboratory will open like a clamshell and fall away at about three minutes and 25 seconds after launch. After this, the rocket's first stage will cut off and then drop into the Atlantic Ocean.

      Parking Orbit

      --The rocket's second stage, a Centaur engine, is started for the first time at about four minutes and 38 seconds after launch. After it completes its first burn of about 7 minutes, the rocket will be in a parking orbit around Earth at an altitude that varies from 102 miles (165 kilometers) to 201 miles (324 kilometers). It will remain there from 14 to 30 minutes, depending on the launch date and time. If launch occurs at the beginning of the launch Nov. 26 launch window, this stage will last about 21 minutes.

      On the Way to Mars

      -- The second Centaur burn, continuing for nearly 8 minutes (for a launch at the opening of the Nov. 26 launch window), lofts the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and sends it toward Mars.

      Spacecraft Separation

      --Mars Science Laboratory will separate from the rocket that boosted it toward Mars at about 44 minutes after launch, if launch occurs at the opening of the Nov. 26 window. Shortly after that, the separated Centaur performs its last task, an avoidance maneuver taking itself out of the spacecraft's flight path to avoid hitting either the spacecraft or Mars.

      Sending a Message of Good Health

      --Once the spacecraft is in its cruise stage toward Mars, it can begin communicating with Earth via an antenna station in Canberra, Australia, part of NASA's Deep Space Network. Engineers expect to hear first contact from the spacecraft at about 55 minutes after launch and assess the spacecraft's health during the subsequent 30 minutes. The spacecraft will arrive at the Red Planet Aug. 6, 2012, Universal Time (evening of Aug. 5, 2012, PDT).

      http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/milestones.html

    • 6 months ago
more from Tech:
from the community

top videos