Mar Science Laboratory, Curiosity Launch Launch Date: Nov. 25, 2011, 8:21 a.m. MST Launch Period: Nov. 25 and Dec.18, 2011 Expected Arrival: August 2012 Launch Vehicle: Atlas V-541 – ULA Denver (first time used) Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Program NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory Science: US, Canada, Russia, Spain, Finland Spacecraft: JPL, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet, others Atlas V Launch Vehicle Planet Science Mission Spacecraft From NASA quick facts on JPL web site. Use Atlas V for Juno launch 551, because they have not launched a Atlas V 541. Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA Viking (7600 lb) Valles Marineris (Mariner Valley) Mars 141.6 million miles from Sun, 1.5 AU 24.6 hour day, year is ~2 Earth years (687 days), axis tilt ~24 deg 4222 miles in dia; ~½ dia, ~1/10 mass, and ~1/3 the gravity of Earth, Largest mountain and canyon in solar system 2 moons; Phobos (fear) & Deimos (panic), god of war’s attendants No planetary magnetic field (weak local fields) Atmosphere; CO2 95.3%, N2 2.7%, Ar 1.6%, Water 210 ppm; ~0.006 atm CO2 freezes on the polar ice caps each winter, ~20% Temperature ranges from -199 deg F to 80 deg F Winds 70 to 200 mph in storms Spacecraft That Have Visited the Red Planet Mariner 4, 6 & 7 (first flyby, ‘65), Mariner 9 (first orbiter, ‘71) Viking I & II (first Lander ’76) 20 year gap in successful US spacecraft – lost: US 1 orbiter; USSR 2 orbiters, 2 landers Pathfinder, MER (2), Phoenix and 4 recent orbiters, MGS, MO, ESA Express and MRO Over 20 Spacecraft failed to reach, orbit or land on Mars (USSR, US, ESA, Japan) Olympus Mons Data NASA web pages, National Geographic book, NASA press kits Rovers Viking 1976 Photos Courtesy of NASA

MSL Mission Goals and Objectives The mission's 4 goals go beyond “follow the water”: To determine if life could have ever arisen on Mars characterize the climate of Mars characterize the geology of Mars, and prepare for human exploration Mars Science Laboratory has 8 scientific objectives: Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds or understanding of the environmental conditions that remove organics. Inventory the chemical building blocks of life as we know it Identify features that may represent the effects of metabolism or biosignatures. Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the surface Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils. Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes. Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of H2O and CO2. Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation Just a cool picture of water ice from Mars Express (ESA) 70 deg N Source JPL/NASA web pages. http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov/ScienceGoals/ Geology lab, ChemCam, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA MSL Mars Descent Imager (MARDI): 1600x1200 pixel, 720p video ChemCam first planetary science Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) Remote Micro-Imager (RMI). Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer Mars Hand Lens Imager Chemistry & Mineralogy Sample Analysis at Mars Radiation Assessment Detector supports manned missions Rover Environmental Monitoring Station Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons MSL EDL Instrument (MEDLI) Suite for the Mars Atmosphere and heat shield RTGs Science instruments: NASA JPL http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/eyesandother/ Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA Mission & Landing 9 mo cruise to Mars, land Aug 2012 1 year on Mars, 23 Earth months Sky Crane soft landing- first usage Curiosity Land within Gale Crater (96 mi dia) 5 x more accurate landing (15 x 12 mi) MER landing site was ~50 x 7 miles Crater very low-elevation, water runs downhill Layers of rock preserve environment record Mountain higher than Mount Rainier, 3 mi Walter Gale, Australian Banker, observed Mars & Comets N Gale Crater Mars Odyssey Orbiter N Source JPL/NASA web pages. Phoenix Curiosity Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA O deg 18O deg W 18O deg E 7O deg N Looking South O deg Gale Crater 4.5º S, 137.4º E From data in various NASA press releases and fact sheets brought to a common coordinated system. i.e Viking NASA fact sheet had 180 deg as zero. 7O deg S Helpful Facts: 4222 mi dia, 36.8 mi/deg. Phoenix landed further north than “Anchorage AK” Opportunity was an interplanetary “hole in one” after 283 million miles landed in a 72 ft crater Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA Spacecraft Spacecraft total Mass 7500 lb Curiosity 1875 lb, 10’ long, 9’ wide and 7’ tall About 5 times mass of Opportunity (MER) Power - radioisotope thermoelectric generators RTGs Plutonium 238, Used on Viking (Viking I lasted 6 yrs) 2.5 kWh/day vs MER Solar Panels >1 kWh/day 140-100 watts Largest Mars mission Aeroshell Rocker-bogie suspension Can handle 45 deg tilt, protected to 30 deg 660 ft/day (1 mi/8 days) top speed 1.5 in/sec MER top speed 2 in/sec Computers 256 MB of DRAM and 2 GB of flash memory MER 128 MB of DRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for navigation 860 lb hydrazine descent propulsion Descent stage, 8 – 68 lbf thrusters Sky Crane, 8 – 700 lbf thrusters 842 lb 1875 lb 2690 lb 1323 lb 770 lb Sources JPL/NASA web pages, Aerojet Press release Spacecraft weights http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/spacecraft/ Computer http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/brains/ Speed http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/wheelslegs/ NASA Fact Sheet MSL and MER landing press kit MER NASA Press Kit Jan 2004 Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA NASA JPL Photos Courtesy of NASA

Photos Courtesy of NASA