Curiosity

Ryan RichterITMG 100 094/16/2013

Takeoff• Curiosity took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on November 26, 2011

• First Mars rover mission since Spirit and Opportunity in 2003

• Primary goal of the mission is to determine if life has ever existed on Mars

Gale Crater

Only region being studied

Curiosity landed there because:There is believed to be an ancient channelAeolis Mons acts as a geologic time scaleHopes of finding water molecules in the rock

Landing

Takes 7 minutes to land

Has to go from 13,000 mph to 0 mph

Stages:Guided initial descentParachute DeploymentParachute Released, rockets turned onSkycrane lowers Curiosity rover

Discoveries

Mast Camera snapped photos of dried up streambed Gravel photographed were small and rounded Stream was determined ankle to hip deep

Water molecules found in drilled rock

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120927.html

Discoveries

Many common isotopes are found in both atmospheres

Mars atmosphere was lost to space Less dense isotopes escaped atmosphere

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20121102.html

Future of Mars Exploration

Curiosity’s successful techniques and data recorded are beneficial for upcoming missions

MAVEN is a Mars orbiter that will take atmosphere measurements

Men on Mars by 2030

Refrences

Wall, Mike. "Mars Rover Curiosity Update Kicks Off Space News Week." Space.com. Space.com, 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. file://localhost/<http/::www.space.com:20669-mars-rover-curiosity-top-discoveries.html>.

Webster, Guy, and Dwayn Brown. "NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration." NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. file://localhost/<http/::www.nasa.gov:mission_pages:msl:news:msl20130318.html>.

McGlaun, Shane. "SlashGear." SlashGear Curiosity Rover Experiment Finds Mars Has Lost a Lot of Its Ancient Atmosphere Comments. Slash Gear, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. file://localhost/<http/::www.slashgear.com:curiosity-rover-experiment-finds-mars-has-lost-a-lot-of-its-ancient-atmosphere-09276999:>.

Webster, Guy, Nancy N. Jones, and Dwayne Brown. "Rover Find Clues in Atmosphere." NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. file://localhost/<http/::www.nasa.gov:mission_pages:msl:news:msl20121102.html>.