NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is a giant science laboratory. It's
as big as a car! Curiosity is the largest and best-equipped robot
to ever explore another planet. The Mars rover cost £1.6
billion to build and was launched on November 26 from the Kennedy
Space Centre. It will land on Mars in summer 2012, after a journey
of eight and a half months.
Have a look at this video from
New Scientist, showing Curiosity launching from Earth and
landing on Mars:
The aim of Curiosity's mission is to find out whether there has
ever been life on Mars. Do aliens really exist? Curiosity is
unlikely to find giant green space men. If there has ever been life
on Mars it was probably something microscopic, such as
bacteria.
Curiosity is packed full of high-tech equipment. My favourite is
a powerful laser which has the energy of a million light bulbs. The
powerful laser zaps a small bit of red Martian rock and vaporises
it. Curiosity will analyse the vaporized rock to see if it contains
the elements carbon, nitrogen or oxygen.
On Earth, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are necessary for life.
Nothing can live without at least one of these elements. Scientists
think they will probably be necessary for life everywhere in the
Universe. If Curiosity finds any of these elements it will use its
drill, attached to a 2 metre long robotic arm, to collect rock
samples.
Testing Curiosity's 2 metre long
robotic arm (c) NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity also has a weather station to measure temperature,
wind and humidity. NASA is planning to launch an app using these
readings to show you what the weather is like on Mars. You might be
able to get live Martian weather on your phone!
Although Curiosity is the most advanced robot ever to explore
another planet, it has major hurdles to overcome to ensure its
mission is successful. The hardest part of the mission will be
landing on Mars safely, without breaking any of the expensive and
high tech equipment.
Smaller Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, used air bags to
land on Mars in 2004. Curiosity is far too heavy to use air bags.
Instead, the flying-saucer shaped probe which carries Curiosity
will use rockets to hover 20 metres above the Martian surface. Once
the probe is hovering safely, it will lower Curiosity to the
surface of Mars using a "sky crane". Curiosity will become the
first robot to abseil onto the surface of another planet!
Curiosity descending from sky
crane (c) NASA/JPL-Caltech
If the landing is successful, Curiosity will explore Mars for at
least two years. Curiosity is the first rover to use nuclear power,
rather than sunlight, to power the instruments and motors. This
means that Curiosity can work through the Martian winters and could
potentially work for much longer than anticipated.
Two-thirds of missions that attempt to visit Mars have failed.
Curiosity is the most expensive and high tech attempt yet. If
Curiosity is successful, it will be a huge achievement for
NASA.
Curiosity will land in a huge crater near the Martian equator.
After it has landed, Curiosity will climb out of the crater and
explore Mars. Any Martian bacteria should watch out. Curiosity is
coming to find you!
To find out more about Curiosity and exploring Mars, go to NASA's Mars Science
Laboratory.