Mars rover Curiosity poised for Nasa's 'most ambitious' mission

Videos

US launches robot seeking signs of life on Mars

see larger video

sourced by The 1

Photos

Mars rover Curiosity poised for Nasa's 'most ambitious' mission

see larger image

uploaded by The 1

• 

  uploaded by The 1 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by The 1 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by The 1 | add comment

The rover, part of the Mars Science Laboratory, will probe the Red Planet's secrets with a wide array of scientific instruments.

A vehicle the size of a small 4x4,is about to embark on a one-way 350m-mile trip costing $2.5bn to explore one of the solar system's most intriguing destinations.

On Saturday, Nasa is dueto launch its Curiosity rover on what is the most ambitious mission yet to the red planet.

After years of delays and cost overruns, the US space agency believes the Mars Science Laboratory will provide vital scientific information and unprecedented knowledge of the planet's hostile terrain.

First among the 23-month mission's objectives is to see whether there is life on Mars, or, in Nasa's words, "to assess whether the landing area has ever had, or still has, environmental conditions favourable to microbial life".

Calling Mars the "Bermuda Triangle of the solar system; it's the death planet", Colleen Hartman, Nasa's assistant associate director, reminded reporters at a pre-launch briefing that the US was the only nation to have landed robotic explorers on the planet and driven them around.

"Now we're set to do it again," she stated, before enthusing about the little vehicle which will emerge from the space pod as it nears the planet's surface. "This rover is really a rover on steroids. It's an order of magnitude more capable than anything we have ever launched to any planet. It will go longer, it will discover more than we could possibly imagine."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/nov/24/mars-rover-curiosity-nasa-planet?newsfeed=true