NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  1. Content with the tag: “mars science laboratory

  2. ChemCam to Shine a Light on Mars Habitability


    ChemCam in actionThis artist's concept depicts the rover Curiosity, of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, as it uses its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the composition of a rock surface. The ChemCam system uses a laser to take samples from as far as 23 feet away from the Curiosity rover. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
    The Mars Science Laboratory is now successfully on its way to Mars. Researchers here on Earth are now preparing for the immense amount of scientific data that the Curiosity rover will be sending when it reaches the martian surface next year. Among the 10 instruments mounted on Curiosity is ChemCam, developed by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French space institute (IRAP).

    ChemCam is designed to fire a powerful laser pulse that can vaporize an area the size of a pinhead. The instrument is then able to analyze the vaporized material using a spectrometer –...

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    Source: [Los Alamos national Laboratory]

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  3. Mars Mission Lifts Off


    Atlas V leaving KennedyCuriosity is on its way to Mars! The Atlas V has cleared the tower as it lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Credit: NASA/JPL

    NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and its Curiosity rover have blasted off on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission is now on its way to Mars. The historic launch took place on Saturday, November 26, 2011. The MSL spacecraft successfully separated from the Atlas V Centaur stage at 44 minutes 6 seconds after launch.

    “The launch vehicle has given us a great injection into our trajectory, and we’re on our way to Mars,” said Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Peter Theisinger of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in...

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    Source: [NASA]

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  4. Mars Science Laboratory


    Artist concept of MSLThis artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity Rover

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is the next major mission in NASA’s long line of Mars explorers. MSL is larger than any previous Mars surface mission, and will deliver the next generation of complex lab instruments to Mars. The mission is of immense importance to NASA’s astrobiological objectives at Mars, and will help scientist determine whether or not past or present life could have gained a foothold on Mars. The Mars Science Laboratory, along with its Curiosity rover, is truly NASA’s first astrobiology mission since the Viking landers...

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    Source: [Link]

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  5. MSL Delayed


    NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will no longer launch in October of 2009 due to testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed in order to ensure a successful mission. The mission has been pushed back to 2011, when MSL will carry a science payload ten times larger than NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers to the martian surface. On Mars, MSL will study the martian environment and will help astrobiologists determine if Mars was once habitable for life as we know it.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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  6. Baking the Rover is Not an Option


    NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is now being prepared for its 2009 voyage to Mars, where the rover will sniff about for traces of organic material. The mission is designed to accurately “see and taste” the martian environment like never before, and could determine if the building blocks of life are present at the planet’s surface. The problem is that many of the substances MSL is made from can release molecules that might interfere with experiments. Many steps had to be taken during the mission’s design and preparation in order to to address this issue of contamination.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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