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National Aeronautics andSpace Administration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, Calif. 91109
Mars Science Laboratory
NASAis developing a 2009 Mars missionto set down a sophisticated, large, mobilelaboratory using a precision landing thatwill make many of Mars' most intriguingregions viable destinations for the firsttime. Once on the ground, the MarsScience Laboratory would analyze dozensof samples scooped from the soil andcored from rocks as it explores withgreater range than any previous Marsrover.As planned, the robotic laboratory willcarry the most advanced payload of scien-tific gear ever used on Mars' surface, apayload more than 10 times as massiveas those of earlier Mars rovers. Its mis-sion: investigate the past or presentpotential of Mars to support microbial life.
Mission Overview
Plans for the Mars Science Laboratory callfor launch from Cape Canaveral Air ForceStation, Florida, in September or October2009 and arrival at Mars in summer 2010.The spacecraft is being designed to steeritself during descent through Mars' atmos-phere with a series of S-curve maneuverssimilar to those used by astronauts pilot-
 
ing NASAspace shuttles. During the 3minutes before touchdown the spacecraftwould slow its descent with a parachute,then use retro rockets mounted aroundthe rim of an upper stage for the final 500meters (1,640 feet) of the descent. In thefinal seconds, the hovering upper stagewould act as a sky crane, lowering theupright rover on a tether to the surface.As envisioned, the mobile laboratory itselfwill be about twice as long (about 2.8meters or 9 feet) and four times as heavyas NASA's twin Mars Exploration Roverslaunched in 2003. It would inherit somedesign elements from them, including six-wheel drive, a rocker-bogie suspensionsystem and cameras mounted on a mastto help the mission's Earthbound humansselect exploration targets and drivingroutes. Unlike earlier rovers, Mars SciencLaboratory is being designed to carryequipment to gather samples of rocks andsoil, crush them and distribute them toonboard test chambers inside analyticalinstruments.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Pasadena, Calif., builder of the MarsScience Laboratory, is engineering therover to roll over obstacles up to 65 cen-timeters (25 inches) high and to travel upto about 200 meters (660 feet) per day onmartian terrain.NASAis considering nuclear energy forpowering the Mars Science Laboratory.The rover would carry a U.S. Departmentof Energy radioisotope power supply thatwould generate electricity from the heat ofplutonium's radioactive decay. This type ofpower supply could give the mission anoperating lifespan on Mars' surface of afull Mars year (687 Earth days) or more.NASAis also considering solar poweralternatives that could meet the mission'sscience and mobility objectives.The mission is being designed to useradio relays via Mars orbiters as the prin-cipal means of communication betweenthe Mars Science Laboratory and Earth.e
Research objectives
The overarching science goal of the mis-sion is to assess whether the landing areaever had or still has environmental condi-tions favorable to microbial life.The investigations to support that assess-ment include:
Detecting and identifying any organiccarbon compounds.
Making an inventory of the key buildingblocks of life.
Identifying features that may representeffects of biological processes.
Examining rocks and soils at and nearthe surface to interpret the processes thatformed and modified them.
Assessing how Mars' atmosphere haschanged over billions of years.
Determining current distribution andcycles of water and carbon dioxide,whether frozen, liquid or gaseous.NASAwill identify a Mars ScienceLaboratory landing site with characteristicsbelieved to make it among the most likelysites on the planet to have retained cluesto the presence of liquid water, a conditionfavorable to life. The site will also need tomeet criteria making it suitable for a safelanding.Selection of a landing site of prime scien-tific interest will benefit from examiningcandidate sites with NASA's MarsReconnaissance Orbiter beginning in2006, from earlier orbiters' observations,and from a planned capability of landingwithin a target area only about 20 kilome-ters (12 miles) long. That precision, abouta five-fold improvement on earlier Marslandings, will make feasible sites thatwould otherwise be excluded for encom-passing nearby unsuitable terrain. Forexample, the mission could go to the floorof a small crater or wide canyon whose
 
steep walls would make a less preciselanding too risky.Mission plans also call for the capability oflanding at much higher altitudes and lati-tudes than earlier Mars rovers. That givesthe advantage of making about three-fourths of Mars' surface accessible, morethan 10 times as much as consideredaccessible for the Mars Exploration RoverProject.Advancing the technologies for precisionlanding of a heavy payload will yieldresearch benefits beyond the returns fromMars Science Laboratory itself. Thosesame capabilities would be important forlater missions both to pick up rocks onMars and bring them back to Earth andconduct extensive surface exploration formartian life.
Science Payload
In April 2004, NASAsolicited proposals forspecific instruments and investigations tobe carried by Mars Science Laboratory.The agency selected eight of the propos-als later that year and also reachedagreements with Russia and Spain forcarrying instruments those nations willprovide.Asuite of instruments named SampleAnalysis at Mars would analyze samplesof material collected and delivered by therover's arm. It includes a gas chromato-graph, a mass spectrometer and a tunablelaser spectrometer with combined capabil-ities to identify a wide range of organic(carbon-containing) compounds and deter-mine the ratios of different isotopes of keyelements. Isotope ratios are clues tounderstanding the history of Mars' atmos-phere and water. The principal investigatoris Dr. Paul Mahaffy of NASA's GoddardSpace Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.An X-ray diffraction and fluorescenceinstrument called CheMin would alsoexamine samples gathered by the roboticarm. It is designed to identify and quantifythe minerals in rocks and soils, and tomeasure bulk composition. The principalinvestigator is Dr. David Blake of NASA'sAmes Research Center, Moffett Field,Calif.Mounted on the arm, the Mars Hand LensImager would take extreme close-up pic-tures of rocks, soil and, if present, ice,revealing details smaller than the width ofa human hair. It will also be able to focuson hard-to-reach objects more than anarm's length away. The principal investiga-tor is Dr. Kenneth Edgett of Malin SpaceScience Systems, San Diego, Calif.Also on the arm, the Alpha Particle X-raySpectrometer for Mars Science Laboratorywould determine the relative abundancesof different elements in rocks and soils.Dr. Ralf Gellert of the University ofGuelph, Ontario, Canada, is principalinvestigator for this instrument, which willbe provided by the Canadian SpaceAgency.The Mars Science Laboratory MastCamera, mounted at about human-eyeheight, would image the rover's surround-ings in high-resolution stereo and color,with a zoom-telephoto lens and the capa-bility to take and store high-definitionvideo sequences. It would also be usedfor viewing materials collected or treatedby the arm. The principal investigator isDr. Michael Malin of Malin Space ScienceSystems.An instrument named ChemCam woulduse laser pulses to vaporize thin layers ofmaterial from martian rocks or soil targetsup to 10 meters (33 feet) away. It willinclude both a spectrometer to identify thetypes of atoms excited by the beam and atelescope to capture detailed images ofthe area illuminated by the beam. Thelaser and telescope sit on the rover's mastand would share with the Mast Camerathe role of informing researchers' choicesabout which objects in the area make thebest targets for approaching to examinewith other instruments. Dr. Roger Wiensof Los Alamos National Laboratory, LosAlamos, N.M., is the principal investigator.
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