|
After a journey of 563 million kilometers through space, NASA's 2.5 billion dollar "Curiosity" rover is set to begin its two-year mission on Mars.
Scientists are hoping a string of experiments on board the rover will determine if the planet has ever supported life. Before that though, there's the crucial issue of the landing on the Martian surface.
Doug Mccuistion, Mars exploration program director, says, "Well it's a fine martian day we have, sun's about ready to come up at Gail Crater, it's going to be warm, it's gonna be sunny."
FULL VIDEO: NASA's Curiosity Rover begins Mars mission
In this image from NASA TV, shot off a video screen, one of the first images from
the Curiosity rover is pictured of its wheel after it successfully landed on Mars. [Photo/Agencies]
Propulsion engineers Todd Barber and Raymond Baker (R) work inside the Spaceflight Operations Facility for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover at Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California August 5, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]
The perfect atmosphere for the historic Mars landing of "Curiosity" - the most advanced interplanetary rover ever built, in what will be the expensive and - arguably - the most difficult landing in NASA history.
Doug also says, "accelerating all the way from this point on. We're about to land a rover that is 10 times heavier than Spirit and Opportunity with 15 times the payload."
And that's no small feat in fact - it's quite a tall order.
Dr John Grunsfeld, science mission directorate, says, "We go from 13,000 miles an hour to zero in seven minutes."
Monday 1:30 AM Eastern time, Curiosity will rendez-vous with the red planet's fiery atmosphere. And in a series of complicated steps, a parachute will unfurl and the rover will be lowered to Mars surface by a set of cables -- resembling a sky crane -- in a landing that could literally make-or-break the mission.
Doug says, "so we may not be successful."
"What it’s designed to withstand and what the surface of mars is like, I don't think it will break-up on landing."
"but if we are successful getting to the ground and we are successful with odyssey information coming back. We are going to have the opportunity for untold discoveries.
This location in Gale crater is absolutely amazing, a place we could've never thought of getting to just a few years ago. hate to use the analogy again, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
NASA says the rover it sent to Mars looks to be in excellent shape for its
upcoming landing.
中国公共网摘编：GAN JADE |
