fbpx
Wikipedia

Curiosity (rover)

February 15, 2024

Curiosity is a car-sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission.[2] Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC.[3][4][5] The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey.[6][7]

Curiosity
Part of Mars Science Laboratory
Self-portrait by Curiosity at the foot of Mount Sharp in October 2015
TypeMars rover
OwnerNASA
ManufacturerJet Propulsion Laboratory
Specifications
Dimensions2.9 m × 2.7 m × 2.2 m (9 ft 6 in × 8 ft 10 in × 7 ft 3 in)
Dry mass899 kilograms (1,982 lb)
Communication
PowerMMRTG: ~100 W (0.13 hp)
RocketAtlas V 541
Instruments
History
Launched
Deployed
  • August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC (2012-08-06UTC05:17)
  • from the MSL EDLS
LocationGale crater, Mars
Travelled31.27 km (19.43 mi) on Mars as of 27 January 2024[1]
NASA Mars rovers

Mission goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology, assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life (including investigation of the role of water), and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration.[8][9]

In December 2012, Curiosity's two-year mission was extended indefinitely,[10] and on August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover landing.[11][12] On August 6, 2022, a detailed overview of accomplishments by the Curiosity rover for the last ten years was reported.[13] The rover is still operational, and as of 15 February 2024, Curiosity has been active on Mars for 4098 sols (4210 total days; 11 years, 193 days) since its landing (see current status).

The NASA/JPL Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Project Team was awarded the 2012 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association "In recognition of the extraordinary achievements of successfully landing Curiosity on Mars, advancing the nation's technological and engineering capabilities, and significantly improving humanity's understanding of ancient Martian habitable environments."[14] Curiosity's rover design serves as the basis for NASA's 2021 Perseverance mission, which carries different scientific instruments.

Mission edit

Further information: Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory

Goals and objectives edit

Animation of the Curiosity rover, showing its capabilities

As established by the Mars Exploration Program, the main scientific goals of the MSL mission are to help determine whether Mars could ever have supported life, as well as determining the role of water, and to study the climate and geology of Mars.[8][9] The mission results will also help prepare for human exploration.[9] To contribute to these goals, MSL has eight main scientific objectives:[15]

Biological
  1. Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds
  2. Investigate the chemical building blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur)
  3. Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes (biosignatures and biomolecules)
Geological and geochemical
  1. Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials
  2. Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils
Planetary process
  1. Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes
  2. Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide
Surface radiation
  1. Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic and cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons. As part of its exploration, it also measured the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it traveled to Mars, and it is continuing radiation measurements as it explores the surface of Mars. This data would be important for a future crewed mission.[16]

About one year into the surface mission, and having assessed that ancient Mars could have been hospitable to microbial life, the MSL mission objectives evolved to developing predictive models for the preservation process of organic compounds and biomolecules; a branch of paleontology called taphonomy.[17] The region it is set to explore has been compared to the Four Corners region of the North American west.[18]

Name edit

A NASA panel selected the name Curiosity following a nationwide student contest that attracted more than 9,000 proposals via the Internet and mail. A sixth-grade student from Kansas, 12-year-old Clara Ma from Sunflower Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas, submitted the winning entry. As her prize, Ma won a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, where she signed her name directly onto the rover as it was being assembled.[19]

Ma wrote in her winning essay:

Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder.[19]

Cost edit

Adjusted for inflation, Curiosity has a life-cycle cost of US$3.2 billion in 2020 dollars. By comparison, the 2021 Perseverance rover has a life-cycle cost of US$2.9 billion.[20]

Rover and lander specifications edit

See also: Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers
 
Two Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers stand with three vehicles, providing a size comparison of three generations of Mars rovers. Front and center left is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover (MER) test vehicle that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed as Curiosity on Mars in 2012.
Sojourner is 65 cm (26 in) long. The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) are 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) long. Curiosity on the right is 3 m (9.8 ft) long.

Curiosity is 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) long by 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wide by 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) in height,[21] larger than Mars Exploration Rovers, which are 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long and have a mass of 174 kg (384 lb) including 6.8 kg (15 lb) of scientific instruments.[22][23][24] In comparison to Pancam on the Mars Exploration Rovers, the MastCam-34 has 1.25× higher spatial resolution and the MastCam-100 has 3.67× higher spatial resolution.[25]

Curiosity has an advanced payload of scientific equipment on Mars.[26] It is the fourth NASA robotic rover sent to Mars since 1996. Previous successful Mars rovers are Sojourner from the Mars Pathfinder mission (1997), and Spirit (2004–2010) and Opportunity (2004–2018) rovers from the Mars Exploration Rover mission.

Curiosity comprised 23% of the mass of the 3,893 kg (8,583 lb) spacecraft at launch. The remaining mass was discarded in the process of transport and landing.

  • Dimensions: Curiosity has a mass of 899 kg (1,982 lb) including 80 kg (180 lb) of scientific instruments.[22] The rover is 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) long by 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wide by 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) in height.[21]

The main box-like chassis forms the Warm Electronics Box (WEB).[27]: 52 

 
Radioisotope pellet within a graphite shell that fuels the generator
 
Radioisotope Power System for Curiosity at Kennedy Space Center
Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are generators that produce electricity from the decay of radioactive isotopes, such as plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium. Heat given off by the decay of this isotope generates electrical power using thermocouples, providing consistent power during all seasons and through the day and night. Waste heat is also used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments.[28][29] Curiosity's RTG is fueled by 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy.[30]
Curiosity's RTG is the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), designed and built by Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy,[31] and fueled and tested by the Idaho National Laboratory.[32] Based on legacy RTG technology, it represents a more flexible and compact development step,[33] and is designed to produce 110 watts of electrical power and about 2,000 watts of thermal power at the start of the mission.[28][29] 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 power source generates 9 MJ (2.5 kWh) of electrical energy each day, much more than the solar panels of the now retired Mars Exploration Rovers, which generated about 2.1 MJ (0.58 kWh) each day. The electrical output from the MMRTG charges two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. This enables the power subsystem to meet peak power demands of rover activities when the demand temporarily exceeds the generator's steady output level. Each battery has a capacity of about 42 ampere hours.
  • Heat rejection system: The temperatures at the landing site vary seasonally and the thermal system warms the rover as needed. The thermal system does so in several ways: passively, through the dissipation to internal components; by electrical heaters strategically placed on key components; and by using the rover heat rejection system (HRS).[27] It uses fluid pumped through 60 m (200 ft) of tubing in the rover body so that sensitive components are kept at optimal temperatures.[36] The fluid loop serves the additional purpose of rejecting heat when the rover has become too warm, and it can also gather waste heat from the power source by pumping fluid through two heat exchangers that are mounted alongside the RTG. 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. The computers run the VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS). Each computer's memory includes 256 kilobytes (kB) of EEPROM, 256 megabytes (MB) of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and 2 gigabytes (GB) of flash memory.[37] For comparison, the Mars Exploration Rovers used 3 MB of EEPROM, 128 MB of DRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory.[38]
The RCE computers use the RAD750 Central processing unit (CPU), which is a successor to the RAD6000 CPU of the Mars Exploration Rovers.[39][40] The IBM RAD750 CPU, a radiation-hardened version of the PowerPC 750, can execute up to 400 Million instructions per second (MIPS), while the RAD6000 CPU is capable of up to only 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] On February 28, 2013, NASA was forced to switch to the backup computer due to a problem with the active computer's flash memory, which resulted in the computer continuously rebooting in a loop. The backup computer was turned on in safe mode and subsequently returned to active status on March 4, 2013.[43] The same problem happened in late March, resuming full operations on March 25, 2013.[44]
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] The rover installed its full surface operations software after the landing because its computers did not have sufficient main memory available during flight. The new software essentially replaced the flight software.[7]
The rover has four processors. One of them is a SPARC processor that runs the rover's thrusters and descent-stage motors as it descended through the Martian atmosphere. Two others are PowerPC processors: the main processor, which handles nearly all of the rover's ground functions, and that processor's backup. The fourth one, another SPARC processor, commands the rover's movement and is part of its motor controller box. All four processors are single core.[45]

Communications edit

 
Curiosity transmits to Earth directly or via three relay satellites in Mars orbit.
  • Communications: Curiosity is equipped with significant telecommunication redundancy by several means: an X band transmitter and receiver that can communicate directly with Earth, and an Ultra high frequency (UHF) Electra-Lite software-defined radio for communicating with Mars orbiters.[27] Communication with orbiters is the main path for data return to Earth, since the orbiters have both more power and larger antennas than the lander, allowing for faster transmission speeds.[27] Telecommunication included a small deep space transponder on the descent stage and a solid-state power amplifier on the rover for X-band. The rover also has two UHF radios,[27] the signals of which orbiting relay satellites are capable of relaying back to Earth. Signals between Earth and Mars take an average of 14 minutes, 6 seconds.[46] Curiosity can communicate with Earth directly at speeds up to 32 kbit/s, but the bulk of the data transfer is being relayed through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey orbiter. Data transfer speeds between Curiosity and each orbiter may reach 2000 kbit/s and 256 kbit/s, respectively, but each orbiter is able to communicate with Curiosity for only about eight minutes per day (0.56% of the time).[47] Communication from and to Curiosity relies on internationally agreed space data communications protocols as defined by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems.[48]
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is the central data distribution hub where selected data products are provided to remote science operations sites as needed. JPL is also the central hub for the uplink process, though participants are distributed at their respective home institutions.[27] At landing, telemetry was monitored by three orbiters, depending on their dynamic location: the 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's Mars Express satellite.[49] As of February 2019, the MAVEN orbiter is being positioned to serve as a relay orbiter while continuing its science mission.[50]

Mobility systems edit

 
Close-up view of a well-worn wheel on the surface, which also shows the Morse code pattern for JPL.
  • Mobility systems: Curiosity is equipped with six 50 cm (20 in) diameter wheels in a rocker-bogie suspension. These are scaled versions of those used on Mars Exploration Rovers (MER).[27] The suspension system also served as landing gear for the vehicle, unlike its smaller predecessors.[51][52] Each wheel has cleats and is independently actuated and geared, providing for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks. Each front and rear wheel can be independently steered, allowing the vehicle to turn in place as well as execute arcing turns.[27] 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 estimate the distance traveled. The pattern itself is Morse code for "JPL" (·--- ·--· ·-··).[53] The rover is capable of climbing sand dunes with slopes up to 12.5°.[54] Based on the center of mass, the vehicle can withstand a tilt of at least 50° in any direction without overturning, but automatic sensors limit the rover from exceeding 30° tilts.[27] After six years of use, the wheels are visibly worn with punctures and tears.[55]
Curiosity can roll over obstacles approaching 65 cm (26 in) in height,[26] and it has a ground clearance of 60 cm (24 in).[56] Based on variables including power levels, terrain difficulty, slippage and visibility, the maximum terrain-traverse speed is estimated to be 200 m (660 ft) per day by automatic navigation.[26] The rover landed about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the base of Mount Sharp,[57] (officially named Aeolis Mons) and it is expected to traverse a minimum of 19 km (12 mi) during its primary two-year mission.[58] It can travel up to 90 m (300 ft) per hour but average speed is about 30 m (98 ft) per hour.[58] The vehicle is 'driven' by several operators led by Vandi Verma, group leader of Autonomous Systems, Mobility and Robotic Systems at JPL,[59][60] who also cowrote the PLEXIL language used to operate the rover.[61][62][63]

Landing edit

Further information: Bradbury Landing

Curiosity landed in Quad 51 (nicknamed Yellowknife) of Aeolis Palus in the crater Gale.[64][65][66][67] The landing site coordinates are: 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417.[68][69] The location was named Bradbury Landing on August 22, 2012, in honor of science fiction author Ray Bradbury.[6] Gale, an estimated 3.5 to 3.8 billion-year-old impact crater, is hypothesized to have first been gradually filled in by sediments; first water-deposited, and then wind-deposited, possibly until it was completely covered. Wind erosion then scoured out the sediments, leaving an isolated 5.5 km (3.4 mi) mountain, Aeolis Mons ("Mount Sharp"), at the center of the 154 km (96 mi) wide crater. Thus, it is believed that the rover may have the opportunity to study two billion years of Martian history in the sediments exposed in the mountain. Additionally, its landing site is near an alluvial fan, which is hypothesized to be the result of a flow of ground water, either before the deposition of the eroded sediments or else in relatively recent geologic history.[70][71]

According to NASA, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 heat-resistant bacterial spores were on Curiosity at launch, and as many as 1,000 times that number may not have been counted.[72]

 
Curiosity and surrounding area as viewed by MRO/HiRISE. North is left. (August 14, 2012; enhanced colors)

Rover's landing system edit

Main article: Mars Science Laboratory–Landing
NASA video describing the landing procedure. NASA dubbed the landing as "Seven Minutes of Terror"

Previous NASA Mars rovers became active only after the successful entry, descent and landing on the Martian surface. Curiosity, on the other hand, was active when it touched down on the surface of Mars, employing the rover suspension system for the final set-down.[73]

Curiosity transformed from its stowed flight configuration to a landing configuration while the MSL spacecraft simultaneously lowered it beneath the spacecraft descent stage with a 20 m (66 ft) tether from the "sky crane" system to a soft landing—wheels down—on the surface of Mars.[74][75][76][77] After the rover touched down it waited 2 seconds to confirm that it was on solid ground then fired several pyrotechnic fasteners activating cable cutters on the bridle to free itself from the spacecraft descent stage. The descent stage then flew away to a crash landing, and the rover prepared itself to begin the science portion of the mission.[78]

Travel status edit

As of December 9, 2020, the rover was 23.32 km (14.49 mi) away from its landing site.[79] As of April 17, 2020, the rover has been driven on fewer than 800 of its 2736 sols (Martian days). As of 30 May, 2023 it had traveled 30.00 km (18.64 mi).

Duplicate edit

 
MAGGIE Rover
 
Scarecrow rover

Curiosity has two full sized, vehicle system test beds (VSTB), a twin rover used for testing and problem solving, MAGGIE rover (Mars Automated Giant Gizmo for Integrated Engineering) with a computer brain and a Scarecrow rover without a computer brain. They are housed at the JPL Mars Yard for problem solving on simulated Mars terrain.[80][81]

Scientific instruments edit

 
Instrument location diagram

The general sample analysis strategy begins with high-resolution cameras to look for features of interest. If a particular surface is of interest, Curiosity can vaporize a small portion of it with an infrared laser and examine the resulting spectra signature to query the rock's elemental composition. If that signature is intriguing, the rover uses its long arm to swing over a microscope and an X-ray spectrometer to take a closer look. If the specimen warrants further analysis, Curiosity can drill into the boulder and deliver a powdered sample to either the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) or the CheMin analytical laboratories inside the rover.[82][83][84]

The MastCam, Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), and Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) cameras were developed by Malin Space Science Systems and they all share common design components, such as on-board digital image processing boxes, 1600 × 1200 charge-coupled device (CCDs), and an RGB Bayer pattern filter.[85][86][87][88][25][89]

In total, the rover carries 17 cameras: HazCams (8), NavCams (4), MastCams (2), MAHLI (1), MARDI (1), and ChemCam (1).[90]

Mast Camera (MastCam) edit

 
The turret at the end of the robotic arm holds five devices.

The MastCam system provides multiple spectra and true-color imaging with two cameras.[86] The cameras can take true-color images at 1600×1200 pixels and up to 10 frames per second hardware-compressed video at 720p (1280×720).[91]

One MastCam camera is the Medium Angle Camera (MAC), which has a 34 mm (1.3 in) focal length, a 15° field of view, and can yield 22 cm/pixel (8.7 in/pixel) scale at 1 km (0.62 mi). The other camera in the MastCam is the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), which has a 100 mm (3.9 in) focal length, a 5.1° field of view, and can yield 7.4 cm/pixel (2.9 in/pixel) scale at 1 km (0.62 mi).[86] Malin also developed a pair of MastCams with zoom lenses,[92] but these were not included in the rover because of the time required to test the new hardware and the looming November 2011 launch date.[93] However, the improved zoom version was selected to be incorporated on the Mars 2020 mission as Mastcam-Z.[94]

Each camera has eight gigabytes of flash memory, which is capable of storing over 5,500 raw images, and can apply real time lossless data compression.[86] The cameras have an autofocus capability that allows them to focus on objects from 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) to infinity.[25] In addition to the fixed RGBG Bayer pattern filter, each camera has an eight-position filter wheel. While the Bayer filter reduces visible light throughput, all three colors are mostly transparent at wavelengths longer than 700 nm, and have minimal effect on such infrared observations.[86]

Chemistry and Camera complex (ChemCam) edit

Main article: Chemistry and Camera complex
 
The internal spectrometer (left) and the laser telescope (right) for the mast
 
First laser spectrum of chemical elements from ChemCam on Curiosity ("Coronation" rock, August 19, 2012)

ChemCam is a suite of two remote sensing instruments combined as one: a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and a Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope. The ChemCam instrument suite was developed by the French CESR laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.[95][96][97] The flight model of the mast unit was delivered from the French CNES to Los Alamos National Laboratory.[98] The purpose of the LIBS instrument is to provide elemental compositions of rock and soil, while the RMI gives ChemCam scientists high-resolution images of the sampling areas of the rocks and soil that LIBS targets.[95][99] The LIBS instrument can target a rock or soil sample up to 7 m (23 ft) away, vaporizing a small amount of it with about 50 to 75 5-nanosecond pulses from a 1067 nm infrared laser and then observes the spectrum of the light emitted by the vaporized rock.[100]

ChemCam has the ability to record up to 6,144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light.[101] Detection of the ball of luminous plasma is done in the visible, near-UV and near-infrared ranges, between 240 nm and 800 nm.[95] The first initial laser testing of the ChemCam by Curiosity on Mars was performed on a rock, N165 ("Coronation" rock), near Bradbury Landing on August 19, 2012.[102][103][104] The ChemCam team expects to take approximately one dozen compositional measurements of rocks per day.[105] Using the same collection optics, the RMI provides context images of the LIBS analysis spots. The RMI resolves 1 mm (0.039 in) objects at 10 m (33 ft) distance, and has a field of view covering 20 cm (7.9 in) at that distance.[95]

Navigation cameras (NavCams) edit

Main article: Navcam
 
First full-resolution Navcam images

The rover has two pairs of black and white navigation cameras mounted on the mast to support ground navigation.[106][107] The cameras have a 45° angle of view and use visible light to capture stereoscopic 3-D imagery.[107][108]

Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) edit

Main article: Rover Environmental Monitoring Station

REMS comprises instruments to measure the Mars environment: humidity, pressure, temperatures, wind speeds, and ultraviolet radiation.[109] It is a meteorological package that includes an ultraviolet sensor provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. The investigative team is led by Javier Gómez-Elvira of the Spanish Astrobiology Center and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a partner.[110][111] All sensors are located around three elements: two booms attached to the rover's mast, the Ultraviolet Sensor (UVS) assembly located on the rover top deck, and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) inside the rover body. REMS provides new clues about the Martian general circulation, micro scale weather systems, local hydrological cycle, destructive potential of UV radiation, and subsurface habitability based on ground-atmosphere interaction.[110]

Hazard avoidance cameras (HazCams) edit

Main article: Hazcam

The rover has four pairs of black and white navigation cameras called hazcams, two pairs in the front and two pairs in the back.[106][112] They are used for autonomous hazard avoidance during rover drives and for safe positioning of the robotic arm on rocks and soils.[112] Each camera in a pair is hardlinked to one of two identical main computers for redundancy; only four out of the eight cameras are in use at any one time. The cameras use visible light to capture stereoscopic three-dimensional (3-D) imagery.[112] The cameras have a 120° field of view and map the terrain at up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in front of the rover.[112] This imagery safeguards against the rover crashing into unexpected obstacles, and works in tandem with software that allows the rover to make its own safety choices.[112]

Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) edit

Main article: Mars Hand Lens Imager
 
Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)
 
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)

MAHLI is a camera on the rover's robotic arm, and acquires microscopic images of rock and soil. MAHLI can take true-color images at 1600×1200 pixels with a resolution as high as 14.5 µm per pixel. MAHLI has an 18.3 to 21.3 mm (0.72 to 0.84 in) focal length and a 33.8–38.5° field of view.[87] MAHLI has both white and ultraviolet Light-emitting diode (LED) illumination for imaging in darkness or fluorescence imaging. MAHLI also has mechanical focusing in a range from infinite to millimeter distances.[87] This system can make some images with focus stacking processing.[113] MAHLI can store either the raw images or do real time lossless predictive or JPEG compression. The calibration target for MAHLI includes color references, a metric bar graphic, a 1909 VDB Lincoln penny, and a stair-step pattern for depth calibration.[114]

Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) edit

See also: Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer

The APXS instrument irradiates samples with alpha particles and maps the spectra of X-rays that are re-emitted for determining the elemental composition of samples.[115] Curiosity's APXS was developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).[115] MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA), the Canadian aerospace company that built the Canadarm and RADARSAT, were responsible for the engineering design and building of the APXS. The APXS science team includes members from the University of Guelph, the University of New Brunswick, the University of Western Ontario, NASA, the University of California, San Diego and Cornell University.[116] The APXS instrument takes advantage of particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and X-ray fluorescence, previously exploited by the Mars Pathfinder and the two Mars Exploration Rovers.[115][117]

 
 
Curiosity's CheMin Spectrometer on Mars (September 11, 2012), with sample inlet seen closed and open

Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) edit

Main article: CheMin
 
First X-ray diffraction view of Martian soil (Curiosity at Rocknest, October 17, 2012)[118]

CheMin is the Chemistry and Mineralogy X-ray powder diffraction and fluorescence instrument.[119] CheMin is one of four spectrometers. It can identify and quantify the abundance of the minerals on Mars. It was developed by David Blake at NASA Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,[120] and won the 2013 NASA Government Invention of the year award.[121] The rover can drill samples from rocks and the resulting fine powder is poured into the instrument via a sample inlet tube on the top of the vehicle. A beam of X-rays is then directed at the powder and the crystal structure of the minerals deflects it at characteristic angles, allowing scientists to identify the minerals being analyzed.[122]

On October 17, 2012, at "Rocknest", the first X-ray diffraction analysis of Martian soil was performed. The results revealed the presence of several minerals, including feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine, and suggested that the Martian soil in the sample was similar to the "weathered basaltic soils" of Hawaiian volcanoes.[118] The paragonetic tephra from a Hawaiian cinder cone has been mined to create Martian regolith simulant for researchers to use since 1998.[123][124]

Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) edit

Main article: Sample Analysis at Mars
 
 
First night-time pictures on Mars (white-light left/UV right) (Curiosity viewing Sayunei rock, January 22, 2013)

The SAM instrument suite analyzes organics and gases from both atmospheric and solid samples. It consists of instruments developed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory the Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales (LATMOS), the Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA) (jointly operated by France's CNRS and Parisian universities), and Honeybee Robotics, along with many additional external partners.[83][125][126] The three main instruments are a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a gas chromatograph (GC) and a tunable laser spectrometer (TLS). These instruments perform precision measurements of oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere of Mars in order to distinguish between their geochemical or biological origin.[83][126][127][128]

 
 
First use of Curiosity's Dust Removal Tool (DRT) (January 6, 2013); Ekwir_1 rock before/after cleaning (left) and closeup (right)

Dust Removal Tool (DRT) edit

The Dust Removal Tool (DRT) is a motorized, wire-bristle brush on the turret at the end of Curiosity's arm. The DRT was first used on a rock target named Ekwir_1 on January 6, 2013. Honeybee Robotics built the DRT.[129]

Radiation assessment detector (RAD) edit

Main article: Radiation assessment detector

The role of the Radiation assessment detector (RAD) instrument is to characterize the broad spectrum of radiation environment found inside the spacecraft during the cruise phase and while on Mars. These measurements have never been done before from the inside of a spacecraft in interplanetary space. Its primary purpose is to determine the viability and shielding needs for potential human explorers, as well as to characterize the radiation environment on the surface of Mars, which it started doing immediately after MSL landed in August 2012.[130] Funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and Germany's Space Agency (DLR), RAD was developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the extraterrestrial physics group at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany.[130][131]

Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) edit

Main article: Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons

The DAN instrument employs a neutron source and detector for measuring the quantity and depth of hydrogen or ice and water at or near the Martian surface.[132] The instrument consists of the detector element (DE) and a 14.1 MeV pulsing neutron generator (PNG). The die-away time of neutrons is measured by the DE after each neutron pulse from the PNG. DAN was provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency[133][134] and funded by Russia.[135]

Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) edit

 
MARDI camera

MARDI is fixed to the lower front left corner of the body of Curiosity. During the descent to the Martian surface, MARDI took color images at 1600×1200 pixels with a 1.3-millisecond exposure time starting at distances of about 3.7 km (2.3 mi) to near 5 m (16 ft) from the ground, at a rate of four frames per second for about two minutes.[88][136] MARDI has a pixel scale of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) at 2 km (1.2 mi) to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) at 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and has a 90° circular field of view. MARDI has eight gigabytes of internal buffer memory that is capable of storing over 4,000 raw images. MARDI imaging allowed the mapping of surrounding terrain and the location of landing.[88] JunoCam, built for the Juno spacecraft, is based on MARDI.[137]

 
 
First use of Curiosity's scooper as it sifts a load of sand at Rocknest (October 7, 2012)

Robotic arm edit

 
First drill tests (John Klein rock, Yellowknife Bay, February 2, 2013).[138]

The rover has a 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) long robotic arm with a cross-shaped turret holding five devices that can spin through a 350° turning range.[139][140] The arm makes use of three joints to extend it forward and to stow it again while driving. It has a mass of 30 kg (66 lb) and its diameter, including the tools mounted on it, is about 60 cm (24 in).[141] It was designed, built, and tested by MDA US Systems, building upon their prior robotic arm work on the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, the Phoenix lander, and the two Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.[142]

Two of the five devices are in-situ or contact instruments known as the X-ray spectrometer (APXS), and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI camera). The remaining three are associated with sample acquisition and sample preparation functions: a percussion drill; a brush; and mechanisms for scooping, sieving, and portioning samples of powdered rock and soil.[139][141] The diameter of the hole in a rock after drilling is 1.6 cm (0.63 in) and up to 5 cm (2.0 in) deep.[140][143] The drill carries two spare bits.[143][144] The rover's arm and turret system can place the APXS and MAHLI on their respective targets, and also obtain powdered sample from rock interiors, and deliver them to the SAM and CheMin analyzers inside the rover.[140]

Since early 2015 the percussive mechanism in the drill that helps chisel into rock has had an intermittent electrical short.[145] On December 1, 2016, the motor inside the drill caused a malfunction that prevented the rover from moving its robotic arm and driving to another location.[146] The fault was isolated to the drill feed brake,[147] and internal debris is suspected of causing the problem.[145] By December 9, 2016, driving and robotic arm operations were cleared to continue, but drilling remained suspended indefinitely.[148] The Curiosity team continued to perform diagnostics and testing on the drill mechanism throughout 2017,[149] and resumed drilling operations on May 22, 2018.[150]

Media, cultural impact and legacy edit

Further information: Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory § Current status
 
Celebration erupts at NASA with the rover's successful landing on Mars (August 6, 2012).

Live video showing the first footage from the surface of Mars was available at NASA TV, during the late hours of August 6, 2012, PDT, including interviews with the mission team. The NASA website momentarily became unavailable from the overwhelming number of people visiting it,[151] and a 13-minute NASA excerpt of the landings on its YouTube channel was halted an hour after the landing by an automated copyright takedown notice from Scripps Local News, which prevented access for several hours.[152] Around 1,000 people gathered in New York City's Times Square, to watch NASA's live broadcast of Curiosity's landing, as footage was being shown on the giant screen.[153] Bobak Ferdowsi, Flight Director for the landing, became an Internet meme and attained Twitter celebrity status, with 45,000 new followers subscribing to his Twitter account, due to his Mohawk hairstyle with yellow stars that he wore during the televised broadcast.[154][155]

On August 13, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama, calling from aboard Air Force One to congratulate the Curiosity team, said, "You guys are examples of American know-how and ingenuity. It's really an amazing accomplishment".[156] (Video (07:20))

Scientists at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California, viewed the CheMin instrument aboard Curiosity as a potentially valuable means to examine ancient works of art without damaging them. Until recently, only a few instruments were available to determine the composition without cutting out physical samples large enough to potentially damage the artifacts. CheMin directs a beam of X-rays at particles as small as 400 μm (0.016 in)[157] and reads the radiation scattered back to determine the composition of the artifact in minutes. Engineers created a smaller, portable version named the X-Duetto. Fitting into a few briefcase-sized boxes, it can examine objects on site, while preserving their physical integrity. It is now being used by Getty scientists to analyze a large collection of museum antiques and the Roman ruins of Herculaneum, Italy.[158]

Prior to the landing, NASA and Microsoft released Mars Rover Landing, a free downloadable game on Xbox Live that uses Kinect to capture body motions, which allows users to simulate the landing sequence.[159]

 
U.S. flag medallion
 
Plaque with President Obama and Vice President Biden's signatures

NASA gave the general public the opportunity from 2009 until 2011 to submit their names to be sent to Mars. More than 1.2 million people from the international community participated, and their names were etched into silicon using an electron-beam machine used for fabricating micro devices at JPL, and this plaque is now installed on the deck of Curiosity.[160] In keeping with a 40-year tradition, a plaque with the signatures of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden was also installed. Elsewhere on the rover is the autograph of Clara Ma, the 12-year-old girl from Kansas who gave Curiosity its name in an essay contest, writing in part that "curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives".[161]

On August 6, 2013, Curiosity audibly played "Happy Birthday to You" in honor of the one Earth year mark of its Martian landing, the first time for a song to be played on another planet. This was also the first time music was transmitted between two planets.[162]

On June 24, 2014, Curiosity completed a Martian year — 687 Earth days — after finding that Mars once had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.[163] Curiosity served as the basis for the design of the Perseverance rover for the Mars 2020 rover mission. Some spare parts from the build and ground test of Curiosity are being used in the new vehicle, but it will carry a different instrument payload.[164]

In 2014, project chief engineer wrote a book detailing the development of the Curiosity rover. "Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer, is a first hand account of the development and landing of the Curiosity Rover.[165]

On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover mission landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars.[11][12] (Videos: Curiosity's First Five Years (02:07); Curiosity's POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); Curiosity's Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54))

As reported in 2018, drill samples taken in 2015 uncovered organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3 billion year old rock samples in Gale.[166][167][168]

Images edit

Descent of Curiosity (video-02:26; August 6, 2012)
 
Interactive 3D model of the rover (with extended arm)

Components of Curiosity edit

  •  
    Mast head with ChemCam, MastCam-34, MastCam-100, NavCam
  •  
    One of the six wheels on Curiosity
  •  
    High-gain (right) and low-gain (left) antennas
  •  
    UV sensor

Orbital images edit

  •  
    Curiosity descending under its parachute (6 August 2012; MRO/HiRISE).
  •  
    Curiosity's parachute flapping in Martian wind (12 August 2012 to 13 January 2013; MRO).
  •  
    Gale crater - surface materials (false colors; THEMIS; 2001 Mars Odyssey).
  •  
    Curiosity's landing site is on Aeolis Palus near Mount Sharp (north is down).
  •  
    Mount Sharp rises from the middle of Gale; the green dot marks Curiosity's landing site (north is down).
  •  
    Green dot is Curiosity's landing site; upper blue is Glenelg; lower blue is base of Mount Sharp.
  •  
    Curiosity's landing ellipse. Quad 51, called Yellowknife, marks the area where Curiosity actually landed.
  •  
    Quad 51, a 1-mile-by-1-mile section of the crater Gale - Curiosity landing site is noted.
  •  
    MSL debris field - parachute landed 615 m from Curiosity (3-D: and ) (17 August 2012; MRO).
  •  
    Curiosity's landing site, Bradbury Landing, as seen by MRO/HiRISE (14 August 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's first tracks viewed by MRO/HiRISE (6 September 2012)
  •  
    First-year and first-mile map of Curiosity's traverse on Mars (1 August 2013) (3-D).

Rover images edit

  •  
    Ejected heat shield as viewed by Curiosity descending to Martian surface (6 August 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's first image after landing (6 August 2012). The rover's wheel can be seen.
  •  
    Curiosity's first image after landing (without clear dust cover, 6 August 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity landed on 6 August 2012 near the base of Aeolis Mons (or "Mount Sharp")[169]
  •  
    Curiosity's first color image of the Martian landscape, taken by MAHLI (6 August 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's self-portrait – with closed dust cover (7 September 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's self-portrait (7 September 2012; color-corrected)
  •  
    Calibration target of MAHLI (9 September 2012; alternate 3-D version)
  •  
    1909 U.S. Lincoln penny on Mars (Curiosity; 10 September 2012)
    (3-D; 2 October 2013)
  •  
    U.S. Lincoln penny on Mars (Curiosity; 4 September 2018)
  •  
    Wheels on Curiosity. Mount Sharp is visible in the background. (MAHLI, 9 September 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's tracks on first test drive (22 August 2012), after parking 6 m (20 ft) from original landing site[6]
  •  
    Comparison of color versions (raw, natural, white balance) of Aeolis Mons on Mars (23 August 2012)
  •  
    Curiosity's view of Aeolis Mons (9 August 2012; white-balanced image)
  •  
    Layers at the base of Aeolis Mons. The dark rock in inset is the same size as Curiosity.

Self-portraits edit

Self-portraits of Curiosity rover on Mount Sharp
 
"Rocknest"
(October 2012)
 
"John Klein"
(May 2013)
 
"Windjana"
(May 2014)
 
"Mojave"
(January 2015)
 
"Buckskin"
(August 2015)
 
"Big Sky"
(October 2015)
 
"Namib"
(January 2016)
 
"Murray"
(September 2016)
 
"Vera Rubin"
(January 2018)
 
"Dust Storm"
(June 2018)
 
"Vera Rubin"
(January 2019)
 
"Aberlady"
(May 2019)
 
"Glen Etive"
(October 2019)
 
"Hutton" (February 2020)
 
"Mary Anning"
(November 2020)
 
"Mont Mercou"
(March 2021)
 
"Greenheugh Pediment"
(November 2021)
See also: List of rocks on Mars#Curiosity

Wide images edit

 
Curiosity's first 360° color panorama image (August 8, 2012)[169][170]
 
Curiosity's view of Mount Sharp (September 20, 2012; raw color version)
 
Curiosity's view of the Rocknest area. South is at center, north is at both ends. Mount Sharp dominates the horizon, while Glenelg is left-of-center and rover tracks are right-of-center (November 16, 2012; white balanced; raw color version; high-res panoramic).
 
Curiosity's view from Rocknest looking east toward Point Lake (center) on the way to Glenelg (November 26, 2012; white balanced; raw color version)
 
Curiosity's view of "Mount Sharp" (September 9, 2015)
 
Curiosity's view of Mars sky at sunset (February 2013; Sun simulated by artist)
 
Curiosity's view of Glen Torridon near Mount Sharp, the rover's highest-resolution 360° panoramic image of over 1.8 billion pixels (at full size) from over 1000 photos taken between November 24 and December 1, 2019

Locations edit

  • An up-to-date NASA link showing Curiosity' travels and present location
 
Curiosity traverse path (location as of June 2021)
 
Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlaid with the position of Martian rovers and landers. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations of Martian surface.
  Clickable image: Clicking on the labels will open a new article.
Legend:   Active (white lined, ※) •   Inactive •   Planned (dash lined, ⁂)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Where Is Curiosity?". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved December 29, 2023.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Nelson, Jon. "Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover". NASA. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  3. ^ Abilleira, Fernando (2013). 2011 Mars Science Laboratory Trajectory Reconstruction and Performance from Launch Through Landing. 23rd AAS/AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting. February 10–14, 2013. Kauai, Hawaii.
  4. ^ Amos, Jonathan (August 8, 2012). "Nasa's Curiosity rover lifts its navigation cameras". BBC News. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  5. ^ "MSL Sol 3 Update". NASA Television. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Brown, Dwayne; Cole, Steve; Webster, Guy; Agle, D.C. (August 22, 2012). . NASA. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Hanna, Jason (August 10, 2012). "Impressive' Curiosity landing only 1.5 miles off, NASA says". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Overview". JPL, NASA. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission Science Goals". NASA. August 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Curiosity's mission extended indefinitely". Newshub. December 5, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Webster, Guy; Cantillo, Laurie; Brown, Dwayne (August 2, 2017). "Five Years Ago and 154 Million Miles Away: Touchdown!". NASA. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Wall, Mike (August 5, 2017). "After 5 Years on Mars, NASA's Curiosity Rover Is Still Making Big Discoveries". Space.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  13. ^ Chang, Ailsa (August 6, 2022). "What a decade of Curiosity has taught us about life on Mars". NPR. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  14. ^ Bosco, Cassandro (March 12, 2013). (PDF). National Aeronautic Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  15. ^ "MSL Objectives". NASA.
  16. ^ Phillips, Tony (February 24, 2012). . NASA. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  17. ^ Grotzinger, John P. (January 24, 2014). "Habitability, Taphonomy, and the Search for Organic Carbon on Mars". Science. 343 (6169): 386–387. Bibcode:2014Sci...343..386G. doi:10.1126/science.1249944. PMID 24458635.
  18. ^ . NASA. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Brown, Dwayne C.; Buis, Alan; Martinez, Carolina (May 27, 2009). . NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2017.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  20. ^ Dreier, Casey (July 29, 2020). "The Cost of Perseverance, in Context". The Planetary Society.
  21. ^ a b "MSL at a glance". CNES. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Watson, Traci (April 14, 2008). "Troubles parallel ambitions in NASA Mars project". USA Today. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  23. ^ Mars Rovers: Pathfinder, MER (Spirit and Opportunity), and MSL (video). Pasadena, California. April 12, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  24. ^ "Mars Exploration Rover Launches" (PDF). NASA. June 2003. (PDF) from the original on July 26, 2004.
  25. ^ a b c "Mars Science Laboratory (MSL): Mast Camera (MastCam): Instrument Description". Malin Space Science Systems. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  26. ^ a b c (PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA. March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i Makovsky, Andre; Ilott, Peter; Taylor, Jim (November 2009). Mars Science Laboratory Telecommunications System Design (PDF). DESCANSO Design and Performance Summary Series. Vol. 14. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  28. ^ a b c "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG)" (PDF). NASA/JPL. October 2013. (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  29. ^ a b c (PDF). NASA/JPL. April 18, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  30. ^ Clark, Stephen (November 17, 2011). "Nuclear power generator hooked up to Mars rover". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  31. ^ Ritz, Fred; Peterson, Craig E. (2004). (PDF). 2004 IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.04TH8720). 2004 IEEE Aerospace Conference. March 6–13, 2004. Big Sky, Montana. pp. 2950–2957. doi:10.1109/AERO.2004.1368101. ISBN 0-7803-8155-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2011.
  32. ^ Campbell, Joseph (2011). (PDF). Idaho National Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  33. ^ . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  34. ^ "Mars Science Laboratory – Technologies of Broad Benefit: Power". NASA/JPL. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  35. ^ Misra, Ajay K. (June 26, 2006). (PDF). NASA/JPL. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 9, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  36. ^ a b Watanabe, Susan (August 9, 2009). "Keeping it Cool (...or Warm!)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  37. ^ a b c d e "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission: Rover: Brains". NASA/JPL. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
  38. ^ Bajracharya, Max; Maimone, Mark W.; Helmick, Daniel (December 2008). "Autonomy for Mars rovers: past, present, and future". Computer. 41 (12): 45. doi:10.1109/MC.2008.515. ISSN 0018-9162.
  39. ^ "BAE Systems Computers to Manage Data Processing and Command For Upcoming Satellite Missions" (Press release). SpaceDaily. June 17, 2008.
  40. ^ (PDF). BAE Systems. August 1, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  41. ^ . BAE Systems. July 1, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  42. ^ (PDF). BAE Systems. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  43. ^ Webster, Guy (March 4, 2013). . NASA. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  44. ^ Webster, Guy (March 25, 2013). . NASA. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  45. ^ Gaudin, Sharon (August 8, 2012). "NASA: Your smartphone is as smart as the Curiosity rover". Computerworld. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  46. ^ "Mars-Earth distance in light minutes". WolframAlpha. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  47. ^ "Curiosity's data communication with Earth". NASA. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  48. ^ "NASA's Curiosity Rover Maximizes Data Sent to Earth by Using International Space Data Communication Standards" (PDF). Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  49. ^ "ESA spacecraft records crucial NASA signals from Mars". Mars Daily. August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  50. ^ NASA Mars exploration efforts turn to operating existing missions and planning sample return. Jeff Foust, Space News. February 23, 2018.
  51. ^ . NASA/JPL. July 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  52. ^ . NASA. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  53. ^ "New Mars Rover to Feature Morse Code". National Association for Amateur Radio. March 29, 2011.
  54. ^ Marlow, Jeffrey (August 29, 2012). "Looking Toward the Open Road". JPL - Martian Diaries. NASA. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  55. ^ Lakdawalla, Emily (August 19, 2014). "Curiosity wheel damage: The problem and solutions". The Planetary Society Blogs. The Planetary Society. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  56. ^ "First drive".
  57. ^ Gorman, Steve (August 8, 2011). "Curiosity beams Mars images back". Stuff - Science. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  58. ^ a b . NASA. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  59. ^ "Vandi Verma". ResearchGate. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  60. ^ . Jet Propulsion Laboratory. CIT. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  61. ^ Estlin, Tara; Jonsson, Ari; Pasareanu, Corina; Simmons, Reid; Tso, Kam; Verma, Vandi (April 2006). "Plan Execution Interchange Language (PLEXIL)" (PDF). NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. Retrieved February 8, 2019.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  62. ^ "Bibliography of PLEXIL-related publications, organized by category". plexil,souceforge. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  63. ^ "Main page: NASA applications". plexil.sourceforge. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  64. ^ "Curiosity's Quad - IMAGE". NASA. August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  65. ^ Agle, DC; Webster, Guy; Brown, Dwayne (August 9, 2012). . NASA. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  66. ^ Amos, Jonathan (August 9, 2012). "Mars rover makes first colour panorama". BBC News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  67. ^ Halvorson, Todd (August 9, 2012). "Quad 51: Name of Mars base evokes rich parallels on Earth". USA Today. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  68. ^ "Video from rover looks down on Mars during landing". MSNBC. August 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  69. ^ Young, Monica (August 7, 2012). "Watch Curiosity Descend onto Mars". Sky & Telescope. SkyandTelescope.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  70. ^ Hand, Eric (August 3, 2012). "Crater mound a prize and puzzle for Mars rover". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11122. S2CID 211728989. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  71. ^ "Gale Crater's History Book". Mars Odyssey THEMIS. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  72. ^ Chang, Kenneth (October 5, 2015). "Mars Is Pretty Clean. Her Job at NASA Is to Keep It That Way". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  73. ^ "Why NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover landing will be "Seven Minutes of Absolute Terror"". NASA. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). June 28, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  74. ^ "Final Minutes of Curiosity's Arrival at Mars". NASA/JPL. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  75. ^ Teitel, Amy Shira (November 28, 2011). "Sky Crane – how to land Curiosity on the surface of Mars". Scientific American. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  76. ^ Snider, Mike (July 17, 2012). "Mars rover lands on Xbox Live". USA Today. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  77. ^ "Mars Science Laboratory: Entry, Descent, and Landing System Performance" (PDF). NASA. March 2006. p. 7.
  78. ^ Amos, Jonathan (June 12, 2012). "NASA's Curiosity rover targets smaller landing zone". BBC News. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  79. ^ "MSL Notebook - Curiosity Mars Rover data". an.rsl.wustl.edu. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  80. ^ Amanda Kooser (September 5, 2020). "NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has an Earth twin named Optimism". C/Net.
  81. ^ Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (September 4, 2020). "NASA Readies Perseverance Mars Rover's Earthly Twin". Mars Exploration Program. NASA.
  82. ^ Amos, Jonathan (August 3, 2012). "Gale Crater: Geological 'sweet shop' awaits Mars rover". BBC News. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  83. ^ a b c . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  84. ^ . NASA. Archived from the original on February 22, 2007.
  85. ^ Malin, M. C.; Bell, J. F.; Cameron, J.; Dietrich, W. E.; Edgett, K. S.; et al. (2005). The Mast Cameras and Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI. p. 1214. Bibcode:2005LPI....36.1214M.
  86. ^ a b c d e . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  87. ^ a b c . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  88. ^ a b c . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  89. ^ Stern, Alan; Green, Jim (November 8, 2007). "Mars Science Laboratory Instrumentation Announcement from Alan Stern and Jim Green, NASA Headquarters". SpaceRef.com. Retrieved August 6, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  90. ^ Mann, Adam (August 7, 2012). "The Photo-Geek's Guide to Curiosity Rover's 17 Cameras". Wired. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  91. ^ Klinger, Dave (August 7, 2012). "Curiosity says good morning from Mars (and has busy days ahead)". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  92. ^ "Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mast Camera (MastCam)". Malin Space Science Systems. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  93. ^ David, Leonard (March 28, 2011). "NASA Nixes 3-D Camera for Next Mars Rover". Space.com. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  94. ^ Bell III, J. F.; Maki, J. N.; Mehall, G. L.; Ravine, M. A.; Caplinger, M. A. (2014). (PDF). International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions, November 4–7, 2014, Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 26, 2015.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  95. ^ a b c d . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  96. ^ Salle, B.; Lacour, J. L.; Mauchien, P.; Fichet, P.; Maurice, S.; et al. (2006). "Comparative study of different methodologies for quantitative rock analysis by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy in a simulated Martian atmosphere" (PDF). Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy. 61 (3): 301–313. Bibcode:2006AcSpe..61..301S. doi:10.1016/j.sab.2006.02.003.
  97. ^ Wiens, R.C.; Maurice, S.; Engel, A; Fabry, V. J.; Hutchins, D. A.; et al. (2008). "Corrections and Clarifications, News of the Week". Science. 322 (5907): 1466. doi:10.1126/science.322.5907.1466a. PMC 1240923.
  98. ^ . Los Alamos National Laboratory. April 2008. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  99. ^ . Archived from the original on October 2, 2006.
  100. ^ Vieru, Tudor (December 6, 2013). "Curiosity's Laser Reaches 100,000 Firings on Mars". Softpedia. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  101. ^ "Rover's Laser Instrument Zaps First Martian Rock". 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  102. ^ Webster, Guy; Agle, D.C. (August 19, 2012). "Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Mission Status Report". NASA. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  103. ^ "'Coronation' Rock on Mars". NASA. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  104. ^ Amos, Jonathan (August 17, 2012). "Nasa's Curiosity rover prepares to zap Martian rocks". BBC News. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  105. ^ "How Does ChemCam Work?". ChemCam Team. 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  106. ^ a b . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  107. ^ a b "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission: Rover: Eyes and Other Senses: Two Engineering NavCams (Navigation Cameras)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  108. ^ "First NavCam mosaic".
  109. ^ Gómez-Elvira, J.; Haberle, B.; Harri, A.; Martinez-Frias, J.; Renno, N.; Ramos, M.; Richardson, M.; de la Torre, M.; Alves, J.; Armiens, C.; Gómez, F.; Lepinette, A.; Mora, L.; Martín, J.; Martín-Torres, J.; Navarro, S.; Peinado, V.; Rodríguez-Manfredi, J. A.; Romeral, J.; Sebastián, E.; Torres, J.; Zorzano, M. P.; Urquí, R.; Moreno, J.; Serrano, J.; Castañer, L.; Jiménez, V.; Genzer, M.; Polko, J. (February 2011). "Rover Environmental Monitoring Station for MSL mission" (PDF). 4th International Workshop on the Mars Atmosphere: Modelling and Observations: 473. Bibcode:2011mamo.conf..473G. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  110. ^ a b . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  111. ^ "Mars Science Laboratory Fact Sheet" (PDF). NASA/JPL. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  112. ^ a b c d e "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission: Rover: Eyes and Other Senses: Four Engineering Hazcams (Hazard Avoidance Cameras)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  113. ^ Edgett, Kenneth S. . NASA. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  114. ^ "3D View of MAHLI Calibration Target". NASA. September 13, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  115. ^ a b c . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  116. ^ "40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference" (PDF). 2009.
    "41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference" (PDF). 2010.
  117. ^ Rieder, R.; Gellert, R.; Brückner, J.; Klingelhöfer, G.; Dreibus, G.; et al. (2003). "The new Athena alpha particle X-ray spectrometer for the Mars Exploration Rovers". Journal of Geophysical Research. 108 (E12): 8066. Bibcode:2003JGRE..108.8066R. doi:10.1029/2003JE002150.
  118. ^ a b Brown, Dwayne (October 30, 2012). . NASA. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  119. ^ "MSL Chemistry & Mineralogy X-ray diffraction(CheMin)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  120. ^ Sarrazin, P.; Blake, D.; Feldman, S.; Chipera, S.; Vaniman, D.; et al. (2005). "Field deployment of a portable X-ray diffraction/X-ray fluorescence instrument on Mars analog terrain". Powder Diffraction. 20 (2): 128–133. Bibcode:2005PDiff..20..128S. doi:10.1154/1.1913719. S2CID 122528094.
  121. ^ Hoover, Rachel (June 24, 2014). . NASA. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  122. ^ Anderson, Robert C.; Baker, Charles J.; Barry, Robert; Blake, David F.; Conrad, Pamela; et al. (December 14, 2010). "Mars Science Laboratory Participating Scientists Program Proposal Information Package" (PDF). NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  123. ^ Beegle, L. W.; Peters, G. H.; Mungas, G. S.; Bearman, G. H.; Smith, J. A.; et al. (2007). "Mojave Martian Simulant: A New Martian Soil Simulant" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (1338): 2005. Bibcode:2007LPI....38.2005B. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  124. ^ Allen, C. C.; Morris, R. V.; Lindstrom, D. J.; Lindstrom, M. M.; Lockwood, J. P. (March 1997). (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Exploration XXVIII. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  125. ^ Cabane, M.; Coll, P.; Szopa, C.; Israël, G.; Raulin, F.; et al. (2004). "Did life exist on Mars? Search for organic and inorganic signatures, one of the goals for "SAM" (sample analysis at Mars)" (PDF). Advances in Space Research. 33 (12): 2240–2245. Bibcode:2004AdSpR..33.2240C. doi:10.1016/S0273-1177(03)00523-4.
  126. ^ a b . NASA. October 2008. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  127. ^ Tarsitano, C. G.; Webster, C. R. (2007). "Multilaser Herriott cell for planetary tunable laser spectrometers". Applied Optics. 46 (28): 6923–6935. Bibcode:2007ApOpt..46.6923T. doi:10.1364/AO.46.006923. PMID 17906720.
  128. ^ Mahaffy, Paul R.; Webster, Christopher R.; Cabane, Michel; Conrad, Pamela G.; Coll, Patrice; et al. (2012). "The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite". Space Science Reviews. 170 (1–4): 401–478. Bibcode:2012SSRv..170..401M. doi:10.1007/s11214-012-9879-z. S2CID 3759945.
  129. ^ Moskowitz, Clara (January 7, 2013). "NASA's Curiosity Rover Brushes Mars Rock Clean, a First". Space.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  130. ^ a b "SwRI Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) Homepage". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  131. ^ "RAD". NASA.
  132. ^ . Laboratory for Space Gamma Spectroscopy. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  133. ^ . NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  134. ^ Litvak, M. L.; Mitrofanov, I. G.; Barmakov, Yu. N.; Behar, A.; Bitulev, A.; et al. (2008). "The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) Experiment for NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory". Astrobiology. 8 (3): 605–12. Bibcode:2008AsBio...8..605L. doi:10.1089/ast.2007.0157. PMID 18598140.
  135. ^ "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission". NASA JPL. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  136. ^ . Malin Space Science Systems. November 12, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  137. ^ "Junocam, Juno Jupiter Orbiter". Malin Space Science Systems. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  138. ^ Anderson, Paul Scott (February 3, 2013). . themeridianijournal.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  139. ^ a b "Curiosity Rover - Arm and Hand". JPL. NASA. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  140. ^ a b c Jandura, Louise. "Mars Science Laboratory Sample Acquisition, Sample Processing and Handling: Subsystem Design and Test Challenges" (PDF). JPL. NASA. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  141. ^ a b . JPL. NASA. August 21, 2012. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  142. ^ Billing, Rius; Fleischner, Richard. (PDF) (Report). MDA US Systems. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  143. ^ a b "MSL Participating Scientists Program - Proposal Information Package" (PDF). Washington University. December 14, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  144. ^ Billing, Rius; Fleischner, Richard (2011). "Mars Science Laboratory Robotic Arm" (PDF). 15th European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  145. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (December 29, 2016). "Internal debris may be causing problem with Mars rover's drill". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  146. ^ "NASA Is Trying to Get Mars Rover Curiosity's Arm Unstuck". Popular Mechanics. Associated Press. December 13, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  147. ^ Wall, Mike (December 15, 2016). "Drill Issue Continues to Afflict Mars Rover Curiosity". SPACE.com. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  148. ^ "Sols 1545-1547: Moving again!". NASA Mars Rover Curiosity: Mission Updates. NASA. December 9, 2016.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  149. ^ Lakdawalla, Emily (September 6, 2017). "Curiosity's balky drill: The problem and solutions". The Planetary Society. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  150. ^ Curiosity Rover is Drilling Again David Dickinon, Sky and Telescope, June 4, 2018
  151. ^ . NASA TV. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  152. ^ . Motherboard. Motherboard.vice.com. August 6, 2012. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  153. ^ "Huge Crowds Watched NASA Rover Land on Mars from NYC's Times Square". Space.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  154. ^ "Mars Rover 'Mohawk Guy' a Space Age Internet Sensation | Curiosity Rover". Space.com. August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  155. ^ "Mars landing proves memes now travel faster than the speed of light (gallery)". VentureBeat. June 18, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  156. ^ Chang, Kenneth (August 13, 2012). "Mars Looks Quite Familiar, if Only on the Surface". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  157. ^ Boyer, Brad (March 10, 2011). (PDF) (Press release). InXitu. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  158. ^ "Martian rover tech has an eye for priceless works of art". August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  159. ^ Thomen, Daryl (August 6, 2012). "'Mars Rover Landing' with Kinect for the Xbox 360". Newsday. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  160. ^ . NASA. 2010. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  161. ^ "NASA's Curiosity rover flying to Mars with Obama's, others' autographs on board". collectSPACE. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  162. ^ Dewey, Caitlin (August 6, 2013). "Lonely Curiosity rover sings 'Happy Birthday' to itself on Mars". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  163. ^ Webster, Guy; Brown, Dwayne (June 23, 2014). "NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Marks First Martian Year". NASA. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  164. ^ Harwood, William (December 4, 2012). "NASA announces plans for new $1.5 billion Mars rover". CNET. Retrieved December 5, 2012. Using spare parts and mission plans developed for NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, the space agency says it can build and launch a new rover in 2020 and stay within current budget guidelines.
  165. ^ "Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity'…".
  166. ^ Chang, Kenneth (June 7, 2018). "Life on Mars? Rover's Latest Discovery Puts It "On the Table"". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2018. The identification of organic molecules in rocks on the red planet does not necessarily point to life there, past or present, but does indicate that some of the building blocks were present.
  167. ^ Ten Kate, Inge Loes (June 8, 2018). "Organic molecules on Mars". Science. 360 (6393): 1068–1069. Bibcode:2018Sci...360.1068T. doi:10.1126/science.aat2662. PMID 29880670. S2CID 46952468.
  168. ^ Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; et al. (June 8, 2018). "Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars" (PDF). Science. 360 (6393): 1096–1101. Bibcode:2018Sci...360.1096E. doi:10.1126/science.aas9185. hdl:10044/1/60810. PMID 29880683. S2CID 46983230.
  169. ^ a b Williams, John (August 15, 2012). "A 360-degree 'street view' from Mars". PhysOrg. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  170. ^ Bodrov, Andrew (September 14, 2012). "Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2". 360Cities. Retrieved September 14, 2012.

External links edit

 
Look up Curiosity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Curiosity rover and Photos by the Curiosity rover.
  • Curiosity - NASA's Mars Exploration Program
  • The search for life on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System: Curiosity update - Video lecture by Christopher P. McKay
  • MSL - Curiosity Design and Mars Landing - PBS Nova (14 November 2012) - Video (53:06)
  • MSL - "Curiosity 'StreetView'" (Sol 2 - 8 August 2012) - NASA/JPL - 360° Panorama
  • MSL - NASA Image Gallery January 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  • Weather Reports from the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)
  • Curiosity on Twitter  
  • MSL - NASA Update - AGU Conference (3 December 2012) Video (70:13)
  • Panorama (via Universe Today)
  • Curiosity's Proposed Path up Mount Sharp NASA May 2019

February 15, 2024
curiosity, rover, curiosity, sized, mars, rover, exploring, gale, crater, mount, sharp, mars, part, nasa, mars, science, laboratory, mission, curiosity, launched, from, cape, canaveral, ccafs, november, 2011, landed, aeolis, palus, inside, gale, crater, mars, . Curiosity is a car sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA s Mars Science Laboratory MSL mission 2 Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral CCAFS on November 26 2011 at 15 02 00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6 2012 05 17 57 UTC 3 4 5 The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2 4 km 1 5 mi from the center of the rover s touchdown target after a 560 million km 350 million mi journey 6 7 CuriosityPart of Mars Science LaboratorySelf portrait by Curiosity at the foot of Mount Sharp in October 2015TypeMars roverOwnerNASAManufacturerJet Propulsion LaboratorySpecificationsDimensions2 9 m 2 7 m 2 2 m 9 ft 6 in 8 ft 10 in 7 ft 3 in Dry mass899 kilograms 1 982 lb CommunicationUHF 400 MHz 2 Mbit sX band 7 8 GHz 800 bit sPowerMMRTG 100 W 0 13 hp RocketAtlas V 541InstrumentsAPXSChemCamCheMinDANHazcam 8MAHLIMARDIMastCamNavcam 4RADREMSSAMHistoryLaunchedNovember 26 2011 15 02 UTC 2011 11 26UTC15 02 from Cape Canaveral SLC 41DeployedAugust 6 2012 05 17 UTC 2012 08 06UTC05 17 from the MSL EDLSLocationGale crater MarsTravelled31 27 km 19 43 mi on Mars as of 27 January 2024 update 1 NASA Mars rovers OpportunityPerseverance Mission goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life including investigation of the role of water and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration 8 9 In December 2012 Curiosity s two year mission was extended indefinitely 10 and on August 5 2017 NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover landing 11 12 On August 6 2022 a detailed overview of accomplishments by the Curiosity rover for the last ten years was reported 13 The rover is still operational and as of 15 February 2024 Curiosity has been active on Mars for 4098 sols 4210 total days 11 years 193 days since its landing see current status The NASA JPL Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Project Team was awarded the 2012 Robert J Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association In recognition of the extraordinary achievements of successfully landing Curiosity on Mars advancing the nation s technological and engineering capabilities and significantly improving humanity s understanding of ancient Martian habitable environments 14 Curiosity s rover design serves as the basis for NASA s 2021 Perseverance mission which carries different scientific instruments Contents 1 Mission 1 1 Goals and objectives 1 2 Name 1 3 Cost 2 Rover and lander specifications 2 1 Communications 2 2 Mobility systems 2 3 Landing 2 4 Rover s landing system 2 4 1 Travel status 2 5 Duplicate 3 Scientific instruments 3 1 Mast Camera MastCam 3 2 Chemistry and Camera complex ChemCam 3 3 Navigation cameras NavCams 3 4 Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS 3 5 Hazard avoidance cameras HazCams 3 6 Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI 3 7 Alpha Particle X ray Spectrometer APXS 3 8 Chemistry and Mineralogy CheMin 3 9 Sample Analysis at Mars SAM 3 10 Dust Removal Tool DRT 3 11 Radiation assessment detector RAD 3 12 Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons DAN 3 13 Mars Descent Imager MARDI 3 14 Robotic arm 4 Media cultural impact and legacy 5 Images 5 1 Components of Curiosity 5 2 Orbital images 5 3 Rover images 5 4 Self portraits 5 5 Wide images 6 Locations 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksMission editFurther information Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory Goals and objectives edit source source source source source source source Animation of the Curiosity rover showing its capabilitiesAs established by the Mars Exploration Program the main scientific goals of the MSL mission are to help determine whether Mars could ever have supported life as well as determining the role of water and to study the climate and geology of Mars 8 9 The mission results will also help prepare for human exploration 9 To contribute to these goals MSL has eight main scientific objectives 15 BiologicalDetermine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds Investigate the chemical building blocks of life carbon hydrogen nitrogen oxygen phosphorus and sulfur Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes biosignatures and biomolecules Geological and geochemicalInvestigate the chemical isotopic and mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near surface geological materials Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soilsPlanetary processAssess long timescale i e 4 billion year Martian atmospheric evolution processes Determine present state distribution and cycling of water and carbon dioxideSurface radiationCharacterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation including galactic and cosmic radiation solar proton events and secondary neutrons As part of its exploration it also measured the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it traveled to Mars and it is continuing radiation measurements as it explores the surface of Mars This data would be important for a future crewed mission 16 About one year into the surface mission and having assessed that ancient Mars could have been hospitable to microbial life the MSL mission objectives evolved to developing predictive models for the preservation process of organic compounds and biomolecules a branch of paleontology called taphonomy 17 The region it is set to explore has been compared to the Four Corners region of the North American west 18 Name edit A NASA panel selected the name Curiosity following a nationwide student contest that attracted more than 9 000 proposals via the Internet and mail A sixth grade student from Kansas 12 year old Clara Ma from Sunflower Elementary School in Lenexa Kansas submitted the winning entry As her prize Ma won a trip to NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL in Pasadena California where she signed her name directly onto the rover as it was being assembled 19 Ma wrote in her winning essay Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone s mind It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day Curiosity is such a powerful force Without it we wouldn t be who we are today Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder 19 Cost edit Adjusted for inflation Curiosity has a life cycle cost of US 3 2 billion in 2020 dollars By comparison the 2021 Perseverance rover has a life cycle cost of US 2 9 billion 20 Rover and lander specifications editSee also Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers nbsp Two Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers stand with three vehicles providing a size comparison of three generations of Mars rovers Front and center left is the flight spare for the first Mars rover Sojourner which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover MER test vehicle that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity which landed on Mars in 2004 On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory which landed as Curiosity on Mars in 2012 Sojourner is 65 cm 26 in long The Mars Exploration Rovers MER are 1 6 m 5 ft 3 in long Curiosity on the right is 3 m 9 8 ft long Curiosity is 2 9 m 9 ft 6 in long by 2 7 m 8 ft 10 in wide by 2 2 m 7 ft 3 in in height 21 larger than Mars Exploration Rovers which are 1 5 m 4 ft 11 in long and have a mass of 174 kg 384 lb including 6 8 kg 15 lb of scientific instruments 22 23 24 In comparison to Pancam on the Mars Exploration Rovers the MastCam 34 has 1 25 higher spatial resolution and the MastCam 100 has 3 67 higher spatial resolution 25 Curiosity has an advanced payload of scientific equipment on Mars 26 It is the fourth NASA robotic rover sent to Mars since 1996 Previous successful Mars rovers are Sojourner from the Mars Pathfinder mission 1997 and Spirit 2004 2010 and Opportunity 2004 2018 rovers from the Mars Exploration Rover mission Curiosity comprised 23 of the mass of the 3 893 kg 8 583 lb spacecraft at launch The remaining mass was discarded in the process of transport and landing Dimensions Curiosity has a mass of 899 kg 1 982 lb including 80 kg 180 lb of scientific instruments 22 The rover is 2 9 m 9 ft 6 in long by 2 7 m 8 ft 10 in wide by 2 2 m 7 ft 3 in in height 21 The main box like chassis forms the Warm Electronics Box WEB 27 52 nbsp Radioisotope pellet within a graphite shell that fuels the generator nbsp Radioisotope Power System for Curiosity at Kennedy Space Center Power source Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator RTG like the successful Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers in 1976 28 29 Radioisotope power systems RPSs are generators that produce electricity from the decay of radioactive isotopes such as plutonium 238 which is a non fissile isotope of plutonium Heat given off by the decay of this isotope generates electrical power using thermocouples providing consistent power during all seasons and through the day and night Waste heat is also used via pipes to warm systems freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments 28 29 Curiosity s RTG is fueled by 4 8 kg 11 lb of plutonium 238 dioxide supplied by the U S Department of Energy 30 Curiosity s RTG is the Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator MMRTG designed and built by Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems under contract to the U S Department of Energy 31 and fueled and tested by the Idaho National Laboratory 32 Based on legacy RTG technology it represents a more flexible and compact development step 33 and is designed to produce 110 watts of electrical power and about 2 000 watts of thermal power at the start of the mission 28 29 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 power source generates 9 MJ 2 5 kWh of electrical energy each day much more than the solar panels of the now retired Mars Exploration Rovers which generated about 2 1 MJ 0 58 kWh each day The electrical output from the MMRTG charges two rechargeable lithium ion batteries This enables the power subsystem to meet peak power demands of rover activities when the demand temporarily exceeds the generator s steady output level Each battery has a capacity of about 42 ampere hours Heat rejection system The temperatures at the landing site vary seasonally and the thermal system warms the rover as needed The thermal system does so in several ways passively through the dissipation to internal components by electrical heaters strategically placed on key components and by using the rover heat rejection system HRS 27 It uses fluid pumped through 60 m 200 ft of tubing in the rover body so that sensitive components are kept at optimal temperatures 36 The fluid loop serves the additional purpose of rejecting heat when the rover has become too warm and it can also gather waste heat from the power source by pumping fluid through two heat exchangers that are mounted alongside the RTG 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 The computers run the VxWorks real time operating system RTOS Each computer s memory includes 256 kilobytes kB of EEPROM 256 megabytes MB of dynamic random access memory DRAM and 2 gigabytes GB of flash memory 37 For comparison the Mars Exploration Rovers used 3 MB of EEPROM 128 MB of DRAM and 256 MB of flash memory 38 The RCE computers use the RAD750 Central processing unit CPU which is a successor to the RAD6000 CPU of the Mars Exploration Rovers 39 40 The IBM RAD750 CPU a radiation hardened version of the PowerPC 750 can execute up to 400 Million instructions per second MIPS while the RAD6000 CPU is capable of up to only 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 On February 28 2013 NASA was forced to switch to the backup computer due to a problem with the active computer s flash memory which resulted in the computer continuously rebooting in a loop The backup computer was turned on in safe mode and subsequently returned to active status on March 4 2013 43 The same problem happened in late March resuming full operations on March 25 2013 44 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 The rover installed its full surface operations software after the landing because its computers did not have sufficient main memory available during flight The new software essentially replaced the flight software 7 The rover has four processors One of them is a SPARC processor that runs the rover s thrusters and descent stage motors as it descended through the Martian atmosphere Two others are PowerPC processors the main processor which handles nearly all of the rover s ground functions and that processor s backup The fourth one another SPARC processor commands the rover s movement and is part of its motor controller box All four processors are single core 45 Communications edit nbsp Curiosity transmits to Earth directly or via three relay satellites in Mars orbit Communications Curiosity is equipped with significant telecommunication redundancy by several means an X band transmitter and receiver that can communicate directly with Earth and an Ultra high frequency UHF Electra Lite software defined radio for communicating with Mars orbiters 27 Communication with orbiters is the main path for data return to Earth since the orbiters have both more power and larger antennas than the lander allowing for faster transmission speeds 27 Telecommunication included a small deep space transponder on the descent stage and a solid state power amplifier on the rover for X band The rover also has two UHF radios 27 the signals of which orbiting relay satellites are capable of relaying back to Earth Signals between Earth and Mars take an average of 14 minutes 6 seconds 46 Curiosity can communicate with Earth directly at speeds up to 32 kbit s but the bulk of the data transfer is being relayed through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey orbiter Data transfer speeds between Curiosity and each orbiter may reach 2000 kbit s and 256 kbit s respectively but each orbiter is able to communicate with Curiosity for only about eight minutes per day 0 56 of the time 47 Communication from and to Curiosity relies on internationally agreed space data communications protocols as defined by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems 48 Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL is the central data distribution hub where selected data products are provided to remote science operations sites as needed JPL is also the central hub for the uplink process though participants are distributed at their respective home institutions 27 At landing telemetry was monitored by three orbiters depending on their dynamic location the 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA s Mars Express satellite 49 As of February 2019 the MAVEN orbiter is being positioned to serve as a relay orbiter while continuing its science mission 50 Mobility systems edit nbsp Close up view of a well worn wheel on the surface which also shows the Morse code pattern for JPL Mobility systems Curiosity is equipped with six 50 cm 20 in diameter wheels in a rocker bogie suspension These are scaled versions of those used on Mars Exploration Rovers MER 27 The suspension system also served as landing gear for the vehicle unlike its smaller predecessors 51 52 Each wheel has cleats and is independently actuated and geared providing for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks Each front and rear wheel can be independently steered allowing the vehicle to turn in place as well as execute arcing turns 27 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 estimate the distance traveled The pattern itself is Morse code for JPL 53 The rover is capable of climbing sand dunes with slopes up to 12 5 54 Based on the center of mass the vehicle can withstand a tilt of at least 50 in any direction without overturning but automatic sensors limit the rover from exceeding 30 tilts 27 After six years of use the wheels are visibly worn with punctures and tears 55 Curiosity can roll over obstacles approaching 65 cm 26 in in height 26 and it has a ground clearance of 60 cm 24 in 56 Based on variables including power levels terrain difficulty slippage and visibility the maximum terrain traverse speed is estimated to be 200 m 660 ft per day by automatic navigation 26 The rover landed about 10 km 6 2 mi from the base of Mount Sharp 57 officially named Aeolis Mons and it is expected to traverse a minimum of 19 km 12 mi during its primary two year mission 58 It can travel up to 90 m 300 ft per hour but average speed is about 30 m 98 ft per hour 58 The vehicle is driven by several operators led by Vandi Verma group leader of Autonomous Systems Mobility and Robotic Systems at JPL 59 60 who also cowrote the PLEXIL language used to operate the rover 61 62 63 Landing edit Further information Bradbury Landing Curiosity landed in Quad 51 nicknamed Yellowknife of Aeolis Palus in the crater Gale 64 65 66 67 The landing site coordinates are 4 35 22 S 137 26 30 E 4 5895 S 137 4417 E 4 5895 137 4417 68 69 The location was named Bradbury Landing on August 22 2012 in honor of science fiction author Ray Bradbury 6 Gale an estimated 3 5 to 3 8 billion year old impact crater is hypothesized to have first been gradually filled in by sediments first water deposited and then wind deposited possibly until it was completely covered Wind erosion then scoured out the sediments leaving an isolated 5 5 km 3 4 mi mountain Aeolis Mons Mount Sharp at the center of the 154 km 96 mi wide crater Thus it is believed that the rover may have the opportunity to study two billion years of Martian history in the sediments exposed in the mountain Additionally its landing site is near an alluvial fan which is hypothesized to be the result of a flow of ground water either before the deposition of the eroded sediments or else in relatively recent geologic history 70 71 According to NASA an estimated 20 000 to 40 000 heat resistant bacterial spores were on Curiosity at launch and as many as 1 000 times that number may not have been counted 72 nbsp Curiosity and surrounding area as viewed by MRO HiRISE North is left August 14 2012 enhanced colors Rover s landing system edit Main article Mars Science Laboratory Landing source source source source source source source NASA video describing the landing procedure NASA dubbed the landing as Seven Minutes of Terror Previous NASA Mars rovers became active only after the successful entry descent and landing on the Martian surface Curiosity on the other hand was active when it touched down on the surface of Mars employing the rover suspension system for the final set down 73 Curiosity transformed from its stowed flight configuration to a landing configuration while the MSL spacecraft simultaneously lowered it beneath the spacecraft descent stage with a 20 m 66 ft tether from the sky crane system to a soft landing wheels down on the surface of Mars 74 75 76 77 After the rover touched down it waited 2 seconds to confirm that it was on solid ground then fired several pyrotechnic fasteners activating cable cutters on the bridle to free itself from the spacecraft descent stage The descent stage then flew away to a crash landing and the rover prepared itself to begin the science portion of the mission 78 Travel status edit As of December 9 2020 the rover was 23 32 km 14 49 mi away from its landing site 79 As of April 17 2020 the rover has been driven on fewer than 800 of its 2736 sols Martian days As of 30 May 2023 it had traveled 30 00 km 18 64 mi Duplicate edit nbsp MAGGIE Rover nbsp Scarecrow rover Curiosity has two full sized vehicle system test beds VSTB a twin rover used for testing and problem solving MAGGIE rover Mars Automated Giant Gizmo for Integrated Engineering with a computer brain and a Scarecrow rover without a computer brain They are housed at the JPL Mars Yard for problem solving on simulated Mars terrain 80 81 Scientific instruments edit nbsp Instrument location diagramThe general sample analysis strategy begins with high resolution cameras to look for features of interest If a particular surface is of interest Curiosity can vaporize a small portion of it with an infrared laser and examine the resulting spectra signature to query the rock s elemental composition If that signature is intriguing the rover uses its long arm to swing over a microscope and an X ray spectrometer to take a closer look If the specimen warrants further analysis Curiosity can drill into the boulder and deliver a powdered sample to either the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM or the CheMin analytical laboratories inside the rover 82 83 84 The MastCam Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI and Mars Descent Imager MARDI cameras were developed by Malin Space Science Systems and they all share common design components such as on board digital image processing boxes 1600 1200 charge coupled device CCDs and an RGB Bayer pattern filter 85 86 87 88 25 89 In total the rover carries 17 cameras HazCams 8 NavCams 4 MastCams 2 MAHLI 1 MARDI 1 and ChemCam 1 90 Mast Camera MastCam edit nbsp The turret at the end of the robotic arm holds five devices The MastCam system provides multiple spectra and true color imaging with two cameras 86 The cameras can take true color images at 1600 1200 pixels and up to 10 frames per second hardware compressed video at 720p 1280 720 91 One MastCam camera is the Medium Angle Camera MAC which has a 34 mm 1 3 in focal length a 15 field of view and can yield 22 cm pixel 8 7 in pixel scale at 1 km 0 62 mi The other camera in the MastCam is the Narrow Angle Camera NAC which has a 100 mm 3 9 in focal length a 5 1 field of view and can yield 7 4 cm pixel 2 9 in pixel scale at 1 km 0 62 mi 86 Malin also developed a pair of MastCams with zoom lenses 92 but these were not included in the rover because of the time required to test the new hardware and the looming November 2011 launch date 93 However the improved zoom version was selected to be incorporated on the Mars 2020 mission as Mastcam Z 94 Each camera has eight gigabytes of flash memory which is capable of storing over 5 500 raw images and can apply real time lossless data compression 86 The cameras have an autofocus capability that allows them to focus on objects from 2 1 m 6 ft 11 in to infinity 25 In addition to the fixed RGBG Bayer pattern filter each camera has an eight position filter wheel While the Bayer filter reduces visible light throughput all three colors are mostly transparent at wavelengths longer than 700 nm and have minimal effect on such infrared observations 86 Chemistry and Camera complex ChemCam edit Main article Chemistry and Camera complex nbsp The internal spectrometer left and the laser telescope right for the mast nbsp First laser spectrum of chemical elements from ChemCam on Curiosity Coronation rock August 19 2012 ChemCam is a suite of two remote sensing instruments combined as one a laser induced breakdown spectroscopy LIBS and a Remote Micro Imager RMI telescope The ChemCam instrument suite was developed by the French CESR laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory 95 96 97 The flight model of the mast unit was delivered from the French CNES to Los Alamos National Laboratory 98 The purpose of the LIBS instrument is to provide elemental compositions of rock and soil while the RMI gives ChemCam scientists high resolution images of the sampling areas of the rocks and soil that LIBS targets 95 99 The LIBS instrument can target a rock or soil sample up to 7 m 23 ft away vaporizing a small amount of it with about 50 to 75 5 nanosecond pulses from a 1067 nm infrared laser and then observes the spectrum of the light emitted by the vaporized rock 100 ChemCam has the ability to record up to 6 144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet visible and infrared light 101 Detection of the ball of luminous plasma is done in the visible near UV and near infrared ranges between 240 nm and 800 nm 95 The first initial laser testing of the ChemCam by Curiosity on Mars was performed on a rock N165 Coronation rock near Bradbury Landing on August 19 2012 102 103 104 The ChemCam team expects to take approximately one dozen compositional measurements of rocks per day 105 Using the same collection optics the RMI provides context images of the LIBS analysis spots The RMI resolves 1 mm 0 039 in objects at 10 m 33 ft distance and has a field of view covering 20 cm 7 9 in at that distance 95 Navigation cameras NavCams edit Main article Navcam nbsp First full resolution Navcam imagesThe rover has two pairs of black and white navigation cameras mounted on the mast to support ground navigation 106 107 The cameras have a 45 angle of view and use visible light to capture stereoscopic 3 D imagery 107 108 Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS edit Main article Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS comprises instruments to measure the Mars environment humidity pressure temperatures wind speeds and ultraviolet radiation 109 It is a meteorological package that includes an ultraviolet sensor provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science The investigative team is led by Javier Gomez Elvira of the Spanish Astrobiology Center and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a partner 110 111 All sensors are located around three elements two booms attached to the rover s mast the Ultraviolet Sensor UVS assembly located on the rover top deck and the Instrument Control Unit ICU inside the rover body REMS provides new clues about the Martian general circulation micro scale weather systems local hydrological cycle destructive potential of UV radiation and subsurface habitability based on ground atmosphere interaction 110 Hazard avoidance cameras HazCams edit Main article Hazcam The rover has four pairs of black and white navigation cameras called hazcams two pairs in the front and two pairs in the back 106 112 They are used for autonomous hazard avoidance during rover drives and for safe positioning of the robotic arm on rocks and soils 112 Each camera in a pair is hardlinked to one of two identical main computers for redundancy only four out of the eight cameras are in use at any one time The cameras use visible light to capture stereoscopic three dimensional 3 D imagery 112 The cameras have a 120 field of view and map the terrain at up to 3 m 9 8 ft in front of the rover 112 This imagery safeguards against the rover crashing into unexpected obstacles and works in tandem with software that allows the rover to make its own safety choices 112 Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI edit Main article Mars Hand Lens Imager nbsp Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI nbsp Alpha Particle X Ray Spectrometer APXS MAHLI is a camera on the rover s robotic arm and acquires microscopic images of rock and soil MAHLI can take true color images at 1600 1200 pixels with a resolution as high as 14 5 µm per pixel MAHLI has an 18 3 to 21 3 mm 0 72 to 0 84 in focal length and a 33 8 38 5 field of view 87 MAHLI has both white and ultraviolet Light emitting diode LED illumination for imaging in darkness or fluorescence imaging MAHLI also has mechanical focusing in a range from infinite to millimeter distances 87 This system can make some images with focus stacking processing 113 MAHLI can store either the raw images or do real time lossless predictive or JPEG compression The calibration target for MAHLI includes color references a metric bar graphic a 1909 VDB Lincoln penny and a stair step pattern for depth calibration 114 Alpha Particle X ray Spectrometer APXS edit See also Alpha particle X ray spectrometer The APXS instrument irradiates samples with alpha particles and maps the spectra of X rays that are re emitted for determining the elemental composition of samples 115 Curiosity s APXS was developed by the Canadian Space Agency CSA 115 MacDonald Dettwiler MDA the Canadian aerospace company that built the Canadarm and RADARSAT were responsible for the engineering design and building of the APXS The APXS science team includes members from the University of Guelph the University of New Brunswick the University of Western Ontario NASA the University of California San Diego and Cornell University 116 The APXS instrument takes advantage of particle induced X ray emission PIXE and X ray fluorescence previously exploited by the Mars Pathfinder and the two Mars Exploration Rovers 115 117 nbsp nbsp Curiosity s CheMin Spectrometer on Mars September 11 2012 with sample inlet seen closed and open Chemistry and Mineralogy CheMin edit Main article CheMin nbsp First X ray diffraction view of Martian soil Curiosity at Rocknest October 17 2012 118 CheMin is the Chemistry and Mineralogy X ray powder diffraction and fluorescence instrument 119 CheMin is one of four spectrometers It can identify and quantify the abundance of the minerals on Mars It was developed by David Blake at NASA Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 120 and won the 2013 NASA Government Invention of the year award 121 The rover can drill samples from rocks and the resulting fine powder is poured into the instrument via a sample inlet tube on the top of the vehicle A beam of X rays is then directed at the powder and the crystal structure of the minerals deflects it at characteristic angles allowing scientists to identify the minerals being analyzed 122 On October 17 2012 at Rocknest the first X ray diffraction analysis of Martian soil was performed The results revealed the presence of several minerals including feldspar pyroxenes and olivine and suggested that the Martian soil in the sample was similar to the weathered basaltic soils of Hawaiian volcanoes 118 The paragonetic tephra from a Hawaiian cinder cone has been mined to create Martian regolith simulant for researchers to use since 1998 123 124 Sample Analysis at Mars SAM edit Main article Sample Analysis at Mars nbsp nbsp First night time pictures on Mars white light left UV right Curiosity viewing Sayunei rock January 22 2013 The SAM instrument suite analyzes organics and gases from both atmospheric and solid samples It consists of instruments developed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory the Laboratoire atmospheres milieux observations spatiales LATMOS the Laboratoire Inter Universitaire des Systemes Atmospheriques LISA jointly operated by France s CNRS and Parisian universities and Honeybee Robotics along with many additional external partners 83 125 126 The three main instruments are a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer QMS a gas chromatograph GC and a tunable laser spectrometer TLS These instruments perform precision measurements of oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in carbon dioxide CO2 and methane CH4 in the atmosphere of Mars in order to distinguish between their geochemical or biological origin 83 126 127 128 nbsp nbsp First use of Curiosity s Dust Removal Tool DRT January 6 2013 Ekwir 1 rock before after cleaning left and closeup right Dust Removal Tool DRT edit The Dust Removal Tool DRT is a motorized wire bristle brush on the turret at the end of Curiosity s arm The DRT was first used on a rock target named Ekwir 1 on January 6 2013 Honeybee Robotics built the DRT 129 Radiation assessment detector RAD edit Main article Radiation assessment detector The role of the Radiation assessment detector RAD instrument is to characterize the broad spectrum of radiation environment found inside the spacecraft during the cruise phase and while on Mars These measurements have never been done before from the inside of a spacecraft in interplanetary space Its primary purpose is to determine the viability and shielding needs for potential human explorers as well as to characterize the radiation environment on the surface of Mars which it started doing immediately after MSL landed in August 2012 130 Funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and Germany s Space Agency DLR RAD was developed by Southwest Research Institute SwRI and the extraterrestrial physics group at Christian Albrechts Universitat zu Kiel Germany 130 131 Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons DAN edit Main article Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons The DAN instrument employs a neutron source and detector for measuring the quantity and depth of hydrogen or ice and water at or near the Martian surface 132 The instrument consists of the detector element DE and a 14 1 MeV pulsing neutron generator PNG The die away time of neutrons is measured by the DE after each neutron pulse from the PNG DAN was provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency 133 134 and funded by Russia 135 Mars Descent Imager MARDI edit nbsp MARDI cameraMARDI is fixed to the lower front left corner of the body of Curiosity During the descent to the Martian surface MARDI took color images at 1600 1200 pixels with a 1 3 millisecond exposure time starting at distances of about 3 7 km 2 3 mi to near 5 m 16 ft from the ground at a rate of four frames per second for about two minutes 88 136 MARDI has a pixel scale of 1 5 m 4 ft 11 in at 2 km 1 2 mi to 1 5 mm 0 059 in at 2 m 6 ft 7 in and has a 90 circular field of view MARDI has eight gigabytes of internal buffer memory that is capable of storing over 4 000 raw images MARDI imaging allowed the mapping of surrounding terrain and the location of landing 88 JunoCam built for the Juno spacecraft is based on MARDI 137 nbsp nbsp First use of Curiosity s scooper as it sifts a load of sand at Rocknest October 7 2012 Robotic arm edit nbsp First drill tests John Klein rock Yellowknife Bay February 2 2013 138 The rover has a 2 1 m 6 ft 11 in long robotic arm with a cross shaped turret holding five devices that can spin through a 350 turning range 139 140 The arm makes use of three joints to extend it forward and to stow it again while driving It has a mass of 30 kg 66 lb and its diameter including the tools mounted on it is about 60 cm 24 in 141 It was designed built and tested by MDA US Systems building upon their prior robotic arm work on the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander the Phoenix lander and the two Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity 142 Two of the five devices are in situ or contact instruments known as the X ray spectrometer APXS and the Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI camera The remaining three are associated with sample acquisition and sample preparation functions a percussion drill a brush and mechanisms for scooping sieving and portioning samples of powdered rock and soil 139 141 The diameter of the hole in a rock after drilling is 1 6 cm 0 63 in and up to 5 cm 2 0 in deep 140 143 The drill carries two spare bits 143 144 The rover s arm and turret system can place the APXS and MAHLI on their respective targets and also obtain powdered sample from rock interiors and deliver them to the SAM and CheMin analyzers inside the rover 140 Since early 2015 the percussive mechanism in the drill that helps chisel into rock has had an intermittent electrical short 145 On December 1 2016 the motor inside the drill caused a malfunction that prevented the rover from moving its robotic arm and driving to another location 146 The fault was isolated to the drill feed brake 147 and internal debris is suspected of causing the problem 145 By December 9 2016 driving and robotic arm operations were cleared to continue but drilling remained suspended indefinitely 148 The Curiosity team continued to perform diagnostics and testing on the drill mechanism throughout 2017 149 and resumed drilling operations on May 22 2018 150 Media cultural impact and legacy editFurther information Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory Current status nbsp Celebration erupts at NASA with the rover s successful landing on Mars August 6 2012 Live video showing the first footage from the surface of Mars was available at NASA TV during the late hours of August 6 2012 PDT including interviews with the mission team The NASA website momentarily became unavailable from the overwhelming number of people visiting it 151 and a 13 minute NASA excerpt of the landings on its YouTube channel was halted an hour after the landing by an automated copyright takedown notice from Scripps Local News which prevented access for several hours 152 Around 1 000 people gathered in New York City s Times Square to watch NASA s live broadcast of Curiosity s landing as footage was being shown on the giant screen 153 Bobak Ferdowsi Flight Director for the landing became an Internet meme and attained Twitter celebrity status with 45 000 new followers subscribing to his Twitter account due to his Mohawk hairstyle with yellow stars that he wore during the televised broadcast 154 155 On August 13 2012 U S President Barack Obama calling from aboard Air Force One to congratulate the Curiosity team said You guys are examples of American know how and ingenuity It s really an amazing accomplishment 156 Video 07 20 Scientists at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles California viewed the CheMin instrument aboard Curiosity as a potentially valuable means to examine ancient works of art without damaging them Until recently only a few instruments were available to determine the composition without cutting out physical samples large enough to potentially damage the artifacts CheMin directs a beam of X rays at particles as small as 400 mm 0 016 in 157 and reads the radiation scattered back to determine the composition of the artifact in minutes Engineers created a smaller portable version named the X Duetto Fitting into a few briefcase sized boxes it can examine objects on site while preserving their physical integrity It is now being used by Getty scientists to analyze a large collection of museum antiques and the Roman ruins of Herculaneum Italy 158 Prior to the landing NASA and Microsoft released Mars Rover Landing a free downloadable game on Xbox Live that uses Kinect to capture body motions which allows users to simulate the landing sequence 159 nbsp U S flag medallion nbsp Plaque with President Obama and Vice President Biden s signatures NASA gave the general public the opportunity from 2009 until 2011 to submit their names to be sent to Mars More than 1 2 million people from the international community participated and their names were etched into silicon using an electron beam machine used for fabricating micro devices at JPL and this plaque is now installed on the deck of Curiosity 160 In keeping with a 40 year tradition a plaque with the signatures of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden was also installed Elsewhere on the rover is the autograph of Clara Ma the 12 year old girl from Kansas who gave Curiosity its name in an essay contest writing in part that curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives 161 On August 6 2013 Curiosity audibly played Happy Birthday to You in honor of the one Earth year mark of its Martian landing the first time for a song to be played on another planet This was also the first time music was transmitted between two planets 162 On June 24 2014 Curiosity completed a Martian year 687 Earth days after finding that Mars once had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life 163 Curiosity served as the basis for the design of the Perseverance rover for the Mars 2020 rover mission Some spare parts from the build and ground test of Curiosity are being used in the new vehicle but it will carry a different instrument payload 164 In 2014 project chief engineer wrote a book detailing the development of the Curiosity rover Mars Rover Curiosity An Inside Account from Curiosity s Chief Engineer is a first hand account of the development and landing of the Curiosity Rover 165 On August 5 2017 NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover mission landing and related exploratory accomplishments on the planet Mars 11 12 Videos Curiosity s First Five Years 02 07 Curiosity s POV Five Years Driving 05 49 Curiosity s Discoveries About Gale Crater 02 54 As reported in 2018 drill samples taken in 2015 uncovered organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3 billion year old rock samples in Gale 166 167 168 Images edit source source source source source source source source Descent of Curiosity video 02 26 August 6 2012 nbsp Interactive 3D model of the rover with extended arm Components of Curiosity edit nbsp Mast head with ChemCam MastCam 34 MastCam 100 NavCam nbsp One of the six wheels on Curiosity nbsp High gain right and low gain left antennas nbsp UV sensorOrbital images edit nbsp Curiosity descending under its parachute 6 August 2012 MRO HiRISE nbsp Curiosity s parachute flapping in Martian wind 12 August 2012 to 13 January 2013 MRO nbsp Gale crater surface materials false colors THEMIS 2001 Mars Odyssey nbsp Curiosity s landing site is on Aeolis Palus near Mount Sharp north is down nbsp Mount Sharp rises from the middle of Gale the green dot marks Curiosity s landing site north is down nbsp Green dot is Curiosity s landing site upper blue is Glenelg lower blue is base of Mount Sharp nbsp Curiosity s landing ellipse Quad 51 called Yellowknife marks the area where Curiosity actually landed nbsp Quad 51 a 1 mile by 1 mile section of the crater Gale Curiosity landing site is noted nbsp MSL debris field parachute landed 615 m from Curiosity 3 D rover and parachute 17 August 2012 MRO nbsp Curiosity s landing site Bradbury Landing as seen by MRO HiRISE 14 August 2012 nbsp Curiosity s first tracks viewed by MRO HiRISE 6 September 2012 nbsp First year and first mile map of Curiosity s traverse on Mars 1 August 2013 3 D Rover images edit nbsp Ejected heat shield as viewed by Curiosity descending to Martian surface 6 August 2012 nbsp Curiosity s first image after landing 6 August 2012 The rover s wheel can be seen nbsp Curiosity s first image after landing without clear dust cover 6 August 2012 nbsp Curiosity landed on 6 August 2012 near the base of Aeolis Mons or Mount Sharp 169 nbsp Curiosity s first color image of the Martian landscape taken by MAHLI 6 August 2012 nbsp Curiosity s self portrait with closed dust cover 7 September 2012 nbsp Curiosity s self portrait 7 September 2012 color corrected nbsp Calibration target of MAHLI 9 September 2012 alternate 3 D version nbsp 1909 U S Lincoln penny on Mars Curiosity 10 September 2012 3 D 2 October 2013 nbsp U S Lincoln penny on Mars Curiosity 4 September 2018 nbsp Wheels on Curiosity Mount Sharp is visible in the background MAHLI 9 September 2012 nbsp Curiosity s tracks on first test drive 22 August 2012 after parking 6 m 20 ft from original landing site 6 nbsp Comparison of color versions raw natural white balance of Aeolis Mons on Mars 23 August 2012 nbsp Curiosity s view of Aeolis Mons 9 August 2012 white balanced image nbsp Layers at the base of Aeolis Mons The dark rock in inset is the same size as Curiosity Self portraits edit Self portraits of Curiosity rover on Mount Sharp nbsp Rocknest October 2012 nbsp John Klein May 2013 nbsp Windjana May 2014 nbsp Mojave January 2015 nbsp Buckskin August 2015 nbsp Big Sky October 2015 nbsp Namib January 2016 nbsp Murray September 2016 nbsp Vera Rubin January 2018 nbsp Dust Storm June 2018 nbsp Vera Rubin January 2019 nbsp Aberlady May 2019 nbsp Glen Etive October 2019 nbsp Hutton February 2020 nbsp Mary Anning November 2020 nbsp Mont Mercou March 2021 nbsp Greenheugh Pediment November 2021 See also List of rocks on Mars Curiosity Wide images edit nbsp Curiosity s first 360 color panorama image August 8 2012 169 170 nbsp Curiosity s view of Mount Sharp September 20 2012 raw color version nbsp Curiosity s view of the Rocknest area South is at center north is at both ends Mount Sharp dominates the horizon while Glenelg is left of center and rover tracks are right of center November 16 2012 white balanced raw color version high res panoramic nbsp Curiosity s view from Rocknest looking east toward Point Lake center on the way to Glenelg November 26 2012 white balanced raw color version nbsp Curiosity s view of Mount Sharp September 9 2015 nbsp Curiosity s view of Mars sky at sunset February 2013 Sun simulated by artist nbsp Curiosity s view of Glen Torridon near Mount Sharp the rover s highest resolution 360 panoramic image of over 1 8 billion pixels at full size from over 1000 photos taken between November 24 and December 1 2019Locations editAn up to date NASA link showing Curiosity travels and present location nbsp Curiosity traverse path location as of June 2021 nbsp Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars overlaid with the position of Martian rovers and landers Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations of Martian surface nbsp Clickable image Clicking on the labels will open a new article Legend Active white lined Inactive Planned dash lined view discuss nbsp Beagle 2 nbsp Curiosity nbsp Deep Space 2 nbsp Rosalind Franklin nbsp InSight nbsp Mars 2 nbsp Mars 3 nbsp Mars 6 nbsp Mars Polar Lander nbsp Opportunity nbsp Perseverance nbsp Phoenix nbsp Schiaparelli EDM nbsp Sojourner nbsp Spirit nbsp Zhurong nbsp Viking 1 nbsp Viking 2See also edit nbsp Astronomy portal nbsp Biology portal nbsp Solar System portal nbsp Spaceflight portalExperience Curiosity Interactive web application InSight Mars lander arrived November 2018 Life on Mars Scientific assessments on the microbial habitability of Mars Viking program Pair of NASA landers and orbiters sent to Mars in 1976 Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory Event timeline of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission Mars Express 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Orbiter Mission Indian space probe launched in 2013 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars 2020 Astrobiology Mars rover mission by NASA Sojourner rover Spirit rover Opportunity rover Perseverance rover Rosalind Franklin rover Zhurong rover Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars roversReferences edit Where Is Curiosity mars nasa gov NASA Retrieved December 29 2023 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Nelson Jon Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover NASA Retrieved February 2 2014 Abilleira Fernando 2013 2011 Mars Science Laboratory Trajectory Reconstruction and Performance from Launch Through Landing 23rd AAS AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting February 10 14 2013 Kauai Hawaii Amos Jonathan August 8 2012 Nasa s Curiosity rover lifts its navigation cameras BBC News Retrieved June 23 2014 MSL Sol 3 Update NASA Television August 8 2012 Retrieved August 9 2012 a b c Brown Dwayne Cole Steve Webster Guy Agle D C August 22 2012 NASA Mars Rover Begins Driving at Bradbury Landing NASA Archived from the original on November 15 2016 Retrieved August 22 2012 a b Hanna Jason August 10 2012 Impressive Curiosity landing only 1 5 miles off NASA says CNN Retrieved August 10 2012 a b Overview JPL NASA Retrieved August 16 2012 a b c Mars Science Laboratory Mission Science Goals NASA August 2012 Retrieved February 17 2021 Curiosity s mission extended indefinitely Newshub December 5 2012 Retrieved February 17 2021 a b Webster Guy Cantillo Laurie Brown Dwayne August 2 2017 Five Years Ago and 154 Million Miles Away Touchdown NASA Retrieved August 8 2017 a b Wall Mike August 5 2017 After 5 Years on Mars NASA s Curiosity Rover Is Still Making Big Discoveries Space com Retrieved August 8 2017 Chang Ailsa August 6 2022 What a decade of Curiosity has taught us about life on Mars NPR Retrieved August 6 2022 Bosco Cassandro March 12 2013 NASA JPL Mars Curiosity Project Team Receive 2012 Robert J Collier Trophy PDF National Aeronautic Association Archived from the original PDF on February 23 2014 Retrieved February 9 2014 MSL Objectives NASA Phillips Tony February 24 2012 Curiosity The Stunt Double NASA Archived from the original on August 1 2012 Retrieved January 26 2014 Grotzinger John P January 24 2014 Habitability Taphonomy and the Search for Organic Carbon on Mars Science 343 6169 386 387 Bibcode 2014Sci 343 386G doi 10 1126 science 1249944 PMID 24458635 PIA16068 NASA Archived from the original on November 29 2014 Retrieved August 17 2012 a b Brown Dwayne C Buis Alan Martinez Carolina May 27 2009 NASA Selects Student s Entry as New Mars Rover Name NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Archived from the original on April 30 2019 Retrieved January 2 2017 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Dreier Casey July 29 2020 The Cost of Perseverance in Context The Planetary Society a b MSL at a glance CNES Retrieved August 7 2012 a b Watson Traci April 14 2008 Troubles parallel ambitions in NASA Mars project USA Today Retrieved May 27 2009 Mars Rovers Pathfinder MER Spirit and Opportunity and MSL video Pasadena California April 12 2008 Retrieved September 22 2011 Mars Exploration Rover Launches PDF NASA June 2003 Archived PDF from the original on July 26 2004 a b c Mars Science Laboratory MSL Mast Camera MastCam Instrument Description Malin Space Science Systems Retrieved April 19 2009 a b c Mars Science Laboratory Facts PDF Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA March 2012 Archived from the original PDF on August 8 2012 Retrieved July 31 2012 a b c d e f g h i Makovsky Andre Ilott Peter Taylor Jim November 2009 Mars Science Laboratory Telecommunications System Design PDF DESCANSO Design and Performance Summary Series Vol 14 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory a b c Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator MMRTG PDF NASA JPL October 2013 Archived PDF from the original on February 26 2015 Retrieved February 17 2021 a b c Mars Exploration Radioisotope Power and Heating for Mars Surface Exploration PDF NASA JPL April 18 2006 Archived from the original PDF on October 12 2012 Retrieved September 7 2009 Clark Stephen November 17 2011 Nuclear power generator hooked up to Mars rover Spaceflight Now Retrieved November 11 2013 Ritz Fred Peterson Craig E 2004 Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator MMRTG Program Overview PDF 2004 IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings IEEE Cat No 04TH8720 2004 IEEE Aerospace Conference March 6 13 2004 Big Sky Montana pp 2950 2957 doi 10 1109 AERO 2004 1368101 ISBN 0 7803 8155 6 Archived from the original PDF on December 16 2011 Campbell Joseph 2011 Fueling the Mars Science Laboratory PDF Idaho National Laboratory Archived from the original PDF on March 4 2016 Retrieved February 28 2016 Technologies of Broad Benefit Power NASA JPL Archived from the original on June 14 2008 Retrieved September 20 2008 Mars Science Laboratory Technologies of Broad Benefit Power NASA JPL Retrieved April 23 2011 Misra Ajay K June 26 2006 Overview of NASA Program on Development of Radioisotope Power Systems with High Specific Power PDF NASA JPL Archived from the original PDF on August 9 2012 Retrieved May 12 2009 a b Watanabe Susan August 9 2009 Keeping it Cool or Warm NASA JPL Retrieved February 17 2021 a b c d e Mars Science Laboratory Mission Rover Brains NASA JPL Retrieved March 27 2009 Bajracharya Max Maimone Mark W Helmick Daniel December 2008 Autonomy for Mars rovers past present and future Computer 41 12 45 doi 10 1109 MC 2008 515 ISSN 0018 9162 BAE Systems Computers to Manage Data Processing and Command For Upcoming Satellite Missions Press release SpaceDaily June 17 2008 E amp ISNow Media gets closer look at Manassas PDF BAE Systems August 1 2008 Archived from the original PDF on December 17 2008 Retrieved November 17 2008 RAD750 radiation hardened PowerPC microprocessor BAE Systems July 1 2008 Archived from the original PDF on December 24 2013 Retrieved September 7 2009 RAD6000 Space Computers PDF BAE Systems June 23 2008 Archived from the original PDF on October 4 2009 Retrieved September 7 2009 Webster Guy March 4 2013 Curiosity Rover s Recovery on Track NASA Archived from the original on June 17 2019 Retrieved March 5 2013 Webster Guy March 25 2013 Curiosity Resumes Science Investigations NASA Archived from the original on June 2 2019 Retrieved March 27 2013 Gaudin Sharon August 8 2012 NASA Your smartphone is as smart as the Curiosity rover Computerworld Retrieved June 17 2018 Mars Earth distance in light minutes WolframAlpha Retrieved August 6 2012 Curiosity s data communication with Earth NASA Retrieved August 7 2012 NASA s Curiosity Rover Maximizes Data Sent to Earth by Using International Space Data Communication Standards PDF Retrieved February 17 2021 ESA spacecraft records crucial NASA signals from Mars Mars Daily August 7 2012 Retrieved August 8 2012 NASA Mars exploration efforts turn to operating existing missions and planning sample return Jeff Foust Space News February 23 2018 Next Mars Rover Sports a Set of New Wheels NASA JPL July 2010 Archived from the original on July 5 2014 Retrieved August 6 2012 Watch NASA s Next Mars Rover Being Built Via Live Curiosity Cam NASA September 13 2011 Archived from the original on November 26 2011 Retrieved August 16 2012 New Mars Rover to Feature Morse Code National Association for Amateur Radio March 29 2011 Marlow Jeffrey August 29 2012 Looking Toward the Open Road JPL Martian Diaries NASA Retrieved August 30 2012 Lakdawalla Emily August 19 2014 Curiosity wheel damage The problem and solutions The Planetary Society Blogs The Planetary Society Retrieved August 22 2014 First drive Gorman Steve August 8 2011 Curiosity beams Mars images back Stuff Science Retrieved August 8 2012 a b Mars Science Laboratory NASA Archived from the original on July 30 2009 Retrieved August 6 2012 Vandi Verma ResearchGate Retrieved February 7 2019 Dr Vandi Verma Group Supervisor Jet Propulsion Laboratory CIT Archived from the original on April 14 2009 Retrieved February 8 2019 Estlin Tara Jonsson Ari Pasareanu Corina Simmons Reid Tso Kam Verma Vandi April 2006 Plan Execution Interchange Language PLEXIL PDF NASA Technical Reports Server NASA Retrieved February 8 2019 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Bibliography of PLEXIL related publications organized by category plexil souceforge Retrieved February 8 2019 Main page NASA applications plexil sourceforge Retrieved February 8 2019 Curiosity s Quad IMAGE NASA August 10 2012 Retrieved August 11 2012 Agle DC Webster Guy Brown Dwayne August 9 2012 NASA s Curiosity Beams Back a Color 360 of Gale Crate NASA Archived from the original on June 2 2019 Retrieved August 11 2012 Amos Jonathan August 9 2012 Mars rover makes first colour panorama BBC News Retrieved August 9 2012 Halvorson Todd August 9 2012 Quad 51 Name of Mars base evokes rich parallels on Earth USA Today Retrieved August 12 2012 Video from rover looks down on Mars during landing MSNBC August 6 2012 Retrieved October 7 2012 Young Monica August 7 2012 Watch Curiosity Descend onto Mars Sky amp Telescope SkyandTelescope com Retrieved October 7 2012 Hand Eric August 3 2012 Crater mound a prize and puzzle for Mars rover Nature doi 10 1038 nature 2012 11122 S2CID 211728989 Retrieved August 6 2012 Gale Crater s History Book Mars Odyssey THEMIS Retrieved August 6 2012 Chang Kenneth October 5 2015 Mars Is Pretty Clean Her Job at NASA Is to Keep It That Way The New York Times Retrieved October 6 2015 Why NASA s Mars Curiosity Rover landing will be Seven Minutes of Absolute Terror NASA Centre National d Etudes Spatiales CNES June 28 2012 Retrieved July 13 2012 Final Minutes of Curiosity s Arrival at Mars NASA JPL Retrieved April 8 2011 Teitel Amy Shira November 28 2011 Sky Crane how to land Curiosity on the surface of Mars Scientific American Retrieved August 6 2012 Snider Mike July 17 2012 Mars rover lands on Xbox Live USA Today Retrieved July 27 2012 Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing System Performance PDF NASA March 2006 p 7 Amos Jonathan June 12 2012 NASA s Curiosity rover targets smaller landing zone BBC News Retrieved June 12 2012 MSL Notebook Curiosity Mars Rover data an rsl wustl edu Retrieved December 9 2020 Amanda Kooser September 5 2020 NASA s Perseverance Mars rover has an Earth twin named Optimism C Net Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL September 4 2020 NASA Readies Perseverance Mars Rover s Earthly Twin Mars Exploration Program NASA Amos Jonathan August 3 2012 Gale Crater Geological sweet shop awaits Mars rover BBC News Retrieved August 6 2012 a b c MSL Science Corner Sample Analysis at Mars SAM NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved September 9 2009 Overview of the SAM instrument suite NASA Archived from the original on February 22 2007 Malin M C Bell J F Cameron J Dietrich W E Edgett K S et al 2005 The Mast Cameras and Mars Descent Imager MARDI for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory PDF Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI p 1214 Bibcode 2005LPI 36 1214M a b c d e Mast Camera MastCam NASA JPL Archived from the original on February 18 2009 Retrieved March 18 2009 a b c Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved March 23 2009 a b c Mars Descent Imager MARDI NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved April 3 2009 Stern Alan Green Jim November 8 2007 Mars Science Laboratory Instrumentation Announcement from Alan Stern and Jim Green NASA Headquarters SpaceRef com Retrieved August 6 2012 permanent dead link Mann Adam August 7 2012 The Photo Geek s Guide to Curiosity Rover s 17 Cameras Wired Retrieved January 16 2015 Klinger Dave August 7 2012 Curiosity says good morning from Mars and has busy days ahead Ars Technica Retrieved January 16 2015 Mars Science Laboratory MSL Mast Camera MastCam Malin Space Science Systems Retrieved August 6 2012 David Leonard March 28 2011 NASA Nixes 3 D Camera for Next Mars Rover Space com Retrieved August 6 2012 Bell III J F Maki J N Mehall G L Ravine M A Caplinger M A 2014 Mastcam Z A Geologic Stereoscopic and Multispectral Investigation on the NASA Mars 2020 Rover PDF International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions November 4 7 2014 Greenbelt Maryland NASA Archived from the original PDF on September 26 2015 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain a b c d MSL Science Corner Chemistry amp Camera ChemCam NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved September 9 2009 Salle B Lacour J L Mauchien P Fichet P Maurice S et al 2006 Comparative study of different methodologies for quantitative rock analysis by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy in a simulated Martian atmosphere PDF Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy 61 3 301 313 Bibcode 2006AcSpe 61 301S doi 10 1016 j sab 2006 02 003 Wiens R C Maurice S Engel A Fabry V J Hutchins D A et al 2008 Corrections and Clarifications News of the Week Science 322 5907 1466 doi 10 1126 science 322 5907 1466a PMC 1240923 ChemCam Status Los Alamos National Laboratory April 2008 Archived from the original on November 9 2013 Retrieved August 6 2012 Spacecraft Surface Operations Configuration Science Instruments ChemCam Archived from the original on October 2 2006 Vieru Tudor December 6 2013 Curiosity s Laser Reaches 100 000 Firings on Mars Softpedia Retrieved January 16 2015 Rover s Laser Instrument Zaps First Martian Rock 2012 Retrieved February 17 2021 Webster Guy Agle D C August 19 2012 Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Mission Status Report NASA Retrieved September 3 2012 Coronation Rock on Mars NASA Retrieved September 3 2012 Amos Jonathan August 17 2012 Nasa s Curiosity rover prepares to zap Martian rocks BBC News Retrieved September 3 2012 How Does ChemCam Work ChemCam Team 2011 Retrieved August 20 2012 a b Mars Science Laboratory Rover in the JPL Mars Yard NASA JPL Archived from the original on May 10 2009 Retrieved May 10 2009 a b Mars Science Laboratory Mission Rover Eyes and Other Senses Two Engineering NavCams Navigation Cameras NASA JPL Retrieved April 4 2009 First NavCam mosaic Gomez Elvira J Haberle B Harri A Martinez Frias J Renno N Ramos M Richardson M de la Torre M Alves J Armiens C Gomez F Lepinette A Mora L Martin J Martin Torres J Navarro S Peinado V Rodriguez Manfredi J A Romeral J Sebastian E Torres J Zorzano M P Urqui R Moreno J Serrano J Castaner L Jimenez V Genzer M Polko J February 2011 Rover Environmental Monitoring Station for MSL mission PDF 4th International Workshop on the Mars Atmosphere Modelling and Observations 473 Bibcode 2011mamo conf 473G Retrieved August 6 2012 a b MSL Science Corner Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved September 9 2009 Mars Science Laboratory Fact Sheet PDF NASA JPL Retrieved June 20 2011 a b c d e Mars Science Laboratory Mission Rover Eyes and Other Senses Four Engineering Hazcams Hazard Avoidance Cameras NASA JPL Retrieved April 4 2009 Edgett Kenneth S Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI NASA Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved January 11 2012 3D View of MAHLI Calibration Target NASA September 13 2012 Retrieved October 11 2012 a b c MSL Science Corner Alpha Particle X ray Spectrometer APXS NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved September 9 2009 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference PDF 2009 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference PDF 2010 Rieder R Gellert R Bruckner J Klingelhofer G Dreibus G et al 2003 The new Athena alpha particle X ray spectrometer for the Mars Exploration Rovers Journal of Geophysical Research 108 E12 8066 Bibcode 2003JGRE 108 8066R doi 10 1029 2003JE002150 a b Brown Dwayne October 30 2012 NASA Rover s First Soil Studies Help Fingerprint Martian Minerals NASA Archived from the original on June 3 2016 Retrieved October 31 2012 MSL Chemistry amp Mineralogy X ray diffraction CheMin NASA JPL Retrieved November 25 2011 Sarrazin P Blake D Feldman S Chipera S Vaniman D et al 2005 Field deployment of a portable X ray diffraction X ray fluorescence instrument on Mars analog terrain Powder Diffraction 20 2 128 133 Bibcode 2005PDiff 20 128S doi 10 1154 1 1913719 S2CID 122528094 Hoover Rachel June 24 2014 Ames Instrument Helps Identify the First Habitable Environment on Mars Wins Invention Award NASA Archived from the original on August 18 2016 Retrieved June 25 2014 Anderson Robert C Baker Charles J Barry Robert Blake David F Conrad Pamela et al December 14 2010 Mars Science Laboratory Participating Scientists Program Proposal Information Package PDF NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Retrieved January 16 2015 Beegle L W Peters G H Mungas G S Bearman G H Smith J A et al 2007 Mojave Martian Simulant A New Martian Soil Simulant PDF Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 1338 2005 Bibcode 2007LPI 38 2005B Retrieved April 28 2014 Allen C C Morris R V Lindstrom D J Lindstrom M M Lockwood J P March 1997 JSC Mars 1 Martian regolith simulant PDF Lunar and Planetary Exploration XXVIII Archived from the original PDF on September 10 2014 Retrieved April 28 2014 Cabane M Coll P Szopa C Israel G Raulin F et al 2004 Did life exist on Mars Search for organic and inorganic signatures one of the goals for SAM sample analysis at Mars PDF Advances in Space Research 33 12 2240 2245 Bibcode 2004AdSpR 33 2240C doi 10 1016 S0273 1177 03 00523 4 a b Sample Analysis at Mars SAM Instrument Suite NASA October 2008 Archived from the original on October 7 2008 Retrieved October 9 2009 Tarsitano C G Webster C R 2007 Multilaser Herriott cell for planetary tunable laser spectrometers Applied Optics 46 28 6923 6935 Bibcode 2007ApOpt 46 6923T doi 10 1364 AO 46 006923 PMID 17906720 Mahaffy Paul R Webster Christopher R Cabane Michel Conrad Pamela G Coll Patrice et al 2012 The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite Space Science Reviews 170 1 4 401 478 Bibcode 2012SSRv 170 401M doi 10 1007 s11214 012 9879 z S2CID 3759945 Moskowitz Clara January 7 2013 NASA s Curiosity Rover Brushes Mars Rock Clean a First Space com Retrieved January 16 2015 a b SwRI Radiation Assessment Detector RAD Homepage Southwest Research Institute Retrieved January 19 2011 RAD NASA Laboratory for Space Gamma Spectroscopy DAN Laboratory for Space Gamma Spectroscopy Archived from the original on May 21 2013 Retrieved September 20 2012 MSL Science Corner Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons DAN NASA JPL Archived from the original on March 20 2009 Retrieved September 9 2009 Litvak M L Mitrofanov I G Barmakov Yu N Behar A Bitulev A et al 2008 The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons DAN Experiment for NASA s 2009 Mars Science Laboratory Astrobiology 8 3 605 12 Bibcode 2008AsBio 8 605L doi 10 1089 ast 2007 0157 PMID 18598140 Mars Science Laboratory Mission NASA JPL Retrieved August 6 2012 Mars Descent Imager MARDI Update Malin Space Science Systems November 12 2007 Archived from the original on September 4 2012 Retrieved August 6 2012 Junocam Juno Jupiter Orbiter Malin Space Science Systems Retrieved August 6 2012 Anderson Paul Scott February 3 2013 Curiosity hammers a rock and completes first drilling tests themeridianijournal com Archived from the original on February 6 2013 Retrieved February 3 2013 a b Curiosity Rover Arm and Hand JPL NASA Retrieved August 21 2012 a b c Jandura Louise Mars Science Laboratory Sample Acquisition Sample Processing and Handling Subsystem Design and Test Challenges PDF JPL NASA Retrieved August 21 2012 a b Curiosity Stretches its Arm JPL NASA August 21 2012 Archived from the original on August 22 2012 Retrieved August 21 2012 Billing Rius Fleischner Richard Mars Science Laboratory Robotic Arm PDF Report MDA US Systems Archived from the original PDF on October 6 2016 Retrieved January 22 2017 a b MSL Participating Scientists Program Proposal Information Package PDF Washington University December 14 2010 Retrieved August 21 2012 Billing Rius Fleischner Richard 2011 Mars Science Laboratory Robotic Arm PDF 15th European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium 2011 Retrieved August 21 2012 a b Clark Stephen December 29 2016 Internal debris may be causing problem with Mars rover s drill Spaceflight Now Retrieved January 22 2017 NASA Is Trying to Get Mars Rover Curiosity s Arm Unstuck Popular Mechanics Associated Press December 13 2016 Retrieved January 18 2017 Wall Mike December 15 2016 Drill Issue Continues to Afflict Mars Rover Curiosity SPACE com Retrieved February 10 2018 Sols 1545 1547 Moving again NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Mission Updates NASA December 9 2016 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Lakdawalla Emily September 6 2017 Curiosity s balky drill The problem and solutions The Planetary Society Retrieved February 10 2018 Curiosity Rover is Drilling Again David Dickinon Sky and Telescope June 4 2018 Curiosity Lands on Mars NASA TV Archived from the original on August 6 2012 Retrieved August 6 2012 NASA s Mars Rover Crashed Into a DMCA Takedown Motherboard Motherboard vice com August 6 2012 Archived from the original on August 8 2012 Retrieved August 8 2012 Huge Crowds Watched NASA Rover Land on Mars from NYC s Times Square Space com Retrieved August 8 2012 Mars Rover Mohawk Guy a Space Age Internet Sensation Curiosity Rover Space com August 7 2012 Retrieved August 8 2012 Mars landing proves memes now travel faster than the speed of light gallery VentureBeat June 18 2012 Retrieved August 8 2012 Chang Kenneth August 13 2012 Mars Looks Quite Familiar if Only on the Surface The New York Times Retrieved August 14 2012 Boyer Brad March 10 2011 inXitu co founder wins NASA Invention of the Year Award for 2010 PDF Press release InXitu Archived from the original PDF on August 3 2012 Retrieved August 13 2012 Martian rover tech has an eye for priceless works of art August 10 2012 Retrieved August 13 2012 Thomen Daryl August 6 2012 Mars Rover Landing with Kinect for the Xbox 360 Newsday Retrieved August 8 2012 Send Your Name to Mars NASA 2010 Archived from the original on August 7 2012 Retrieved August 7 2012 NASA s Curiosity rover flying to Mars with Obama s others autographs on board collectSPACE Retrieved August 11 2012 Dewey Caitlin August 6 2013 Lonely Curiosity rover sings Happy Birthday to itself on Mars The Washington Post Retrieved August 7 2013 Webster Guy Brown Dwayne June 23 2014 NASA s Mars Curiosity Rover Marks First Martian Year NASA Retrieved June 23 2014 Harwood William December 4 2012 NASA announces plans for new 1 5 billion Mars rover CNET Retrieved December 5 2012 Using spare parts and mission plans developed for NASA s Curiosity Mars rover the space agency says it can build and launch a new rover in 2020 and stay within current budget guidelines Mars Rover Curiosity An Inside Account from Curiosity Chang Kenneth June 7 2018 Life on Mars Rover s Latest Discovery Puts It On the Table The New York Times Retrieved June 8 2018 The identification of organic molecules in rocks on the red planet does not necessarily point to life there past or present but does indicate that some of the building blocks were present Ten Kate Inge Loes June 8 2018 Organic molecules on Mars Science 360 6393 1068 1069 Bibcode 2018Sci 360 1068T doi 10 1126 science aat2662 PMID 29880670 S2CID 46952468 Eigenbrode Jennifer L et al June 8 2018 Organic matter preserved in 3 billion year old mudstones at Gale crater Mars PDF Science 360 6393 1096 1101 Bibcode 2018Sci 360 1096E doi 10 1126 science aas9185 hdl 10044 1 60810 PMID 29880683 S2CID 46983230 a b Williams John August 15 2012 A 360 degree street view from Mars PhysOrg Retrieved August 16 2012 Bodrov Andrew September 14 2012 Mars Panorama Curiosity rover Martian solar day 2 360Cities Retrieved September 14 2012 External links edit nbsp Look up Curiosity in Wiktionary the free dictionary nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to wbr Curiosity rover and wbr Photos by the Curiosity rover Curiosity NASA s Mars Exploration Program The search for life on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System Curiosity update Video lecture by Christopher P McKay MSL Curiosity Design and Mars Landing PBS Nova 14 November 2012 Video 53 06 MSL Curiosity StreetView Sol 2 8 August 2012 NASA JPL 360 Panorama MSL Curiosity Rover Learn About Curiosity NASA JPL MSL Curiosity Rover Virtual Tour NASA JPL MSL NASA Image Gallery Archived January 7 2020 at the Wayback Machine Weather Reports from the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS Curiosity on Twitter nbsp MSL NASA Update AGU Conference 3 December 2012 Video 70 13 Panorama via Universe Today Curiosity s Proposed Path up Mount Sharp NASA May 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Curiosity rover amp oldid 1207712866, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.