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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida

Date:
October 5, 2011
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
In preparation for launch later this year, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been placed on the spacecraft's heat shield.
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In preparation for launch later this year, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been placed on the spacecraft's heat shield.

The matchup was performed by technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The heat shield and the spacecraft's back shell form an aeroshell that encapsulates and protects the rover from the intense heat it will experience during the final leg of the trip to Mars-the friction-filled descent through the Martian atmosphere.

The mission is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during the period from Nov. 25 to Dec. 18. Arrival at Gale Crater on Mars is expected in August 2012.

After arrival, the Curiosity rover will investigate whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and favorable for preserving clues about whether life existed.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity


Story Source:

Materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 October 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005145425.htm>.
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2011, October 5). NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005145425.htm
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005145425.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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