11/27/11

Curiosity -- Up Up And Away!

They did it! They launched Curiosity, the best NASA rover yet on its mission to Mars on November 26. I watched this launch and held my breath in awe. As always...




From NASA -- launched its newest, largest and most sophisticated rover yet to Mars on November 26, marking an important step toward the ambitious goal of one day landing humans on the surface of the Red Planet.

The Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity rover, lifted off early on Friday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After an 8 1/2-month journey, the rover is expected to arrive at the Red Planet in August 2012. Once on the surface, Curiosity will investigate whether the planet is or ever was habitable.

The rover,  equipped with 10 different instruments, which allow it to dig, drill, and shoot a laser into rocks and examine the chemical makeup of Martian soil and dust. The mission will help scientists understand the environment and atmosphere of Mars, which will be essential for planning a manned mission to the planet.

"The goal is to send humans to Mars and return them back again safely — in order to return them back safely, we really need to know about the surface properties," Doug Ming, a co-investigator for the Mars Science Laboratory, said in a news briefing Wednesday (Nov. 23) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.


  Artist's concept of a future Mars mission shows astronauts near a lander on the Red Planet

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What do you think about future missions that will take humans to Mars?
See my previous post on this Mars Mission ~ Here


Kaye

5 comments:

Jessica E. Subject said...

I look forward to Curiosity's discoveries. :)

Melisse Aires said...

i think this is so exciting! Imagine a colony someday!

Kaye Manro said...

So do I, Jessica!

You and me both, Melisse!

Shelley Munro said...

It's both exciting and interesting, and it's so far away!

Kaye Manro said...

Shelley, I so agree-- it is very exciting! The time it takes to get to Mars just shows how vast even our solar system really is.