Curiosity, anyone?
Combining the forces of Mars Science
Laboratory (MSL) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the
two have come out with something grand. In a big step for human kind a rover
has been prepared to land on Mars. Launched November 26, 2011, the rover is scheduled
to land at Gale Crater on Mars in mid-August 2012. This rover’s task is to
establish whether or not the Red Planet is or ever was able to support life.
Imagine how you would feel if you got to name a famous space rover made by world renowned programs? That’s probably how Clara Ma felt when her essay with the suggested name Curiosity won the Mars Science Laboratory naming contest. The twelve-year old wrote a paragraph that caught the eye of many. Ma wrote:
Imagine how you would feel if you got to name a famous space rover made by world renowned programs? That’s probably how Clara Ma felt when her essay with the suggested name Curiosity won the Mars Science Laboratory naming contest. The twelve-year old wrote a paragraph that caught the eye of many. Ma wrote:
Curiosity is an
everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in
the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity
is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. When I
was younger, I wondered, 'Why is the sky blue?', 'Why do the stars twinkle?',
'Why am I me?', and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the
place where I want to find my answers. Curiosity is the passion that drives us
through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our
need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers,
but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We
have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never
know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have
learned so much. (NASA)
Since
then, Curiosity has been a long-awaited mission for science nerds everywhere.
The answers that this rover promises humanity are the answers to some questions
that have been around for a very long time.
Curiosity is substantially larger than Spirit or Opportunity (the Mars Exploration Rovers that came before it). This rover is about the size of a Mini Cooper which makes it nearly five times as large. It also weighs a hefty 1,984 pounds (1600 lbs. more than the previous rovers). With all the weight and bulk, this rover’s estimated maximum terrain-traverse speed is 90 meters per hour. Please note like I have that during track season not one of CCHS’s athletes ran a 100 meter sprint in more than 30 seconds. So this is probably super slow and painful to watch. Over Curiosity’s two year mission it is anticipated to travel no less than 12 miles.
The landing spot, Gale Crater, on Mars was chosen out of a list of places because of the different attributes it has. Inside Gale Crater is a mountain rising 3.1 miles of layered rock. Since the mission is to look for any sign of possible life on this planet, one of the first things Curiosity will be doing is taking a look at a very dense and bright colored rock. This kind of rock is different from all other rock types inspected on Mars. It might just be a piece of an antediluvian playa lake deposit. The rocks from there will be checked for the existence of organic molecules. (Wiki)
Of course this crazily weighted will need insane amounts of power and I honestly think I should get extra-extra credit for writing this paragraph. Through the natural decay of a non-fissile isotope (see why I should extra-extra credit now? *nudge nudge*) of plutonium-238 generators produce electricity. Heat is given off by the decay regardless of the time of year or day. The heat is then turned into the electricity used to operate Curiosity. This method is an extremely smart move for NASA and MSL. Pu-238 has a half-life of 87.7 years giving it a long time to produce energy. (EPA)
If Curiosity gets the answers that we hope to achieve from this then this will be a major breakthrough. And even though I still can’t get over how super-duper slow this little (kind of big) piece of equipment goes I even hope the best for it. I hope this report this report cured your curiosity of Curiosity (good pun, ay?). So tune in August of 2012 if you want an update on what this little rover has to offer.
Curiosity is substantially larger than Spirit or Opportunity (the Mars Exploration Rovers that came before it). This rover is about the size of a Mini Cooper which makes it nearly five times as large. It also weighs a hefty 1,984 pounds (1600 lbs. more than the previous rovers). With all the weight and bulk, this rover’s estimated maximum terrain-traverse speed is 90 meters per hour. Please note like I have that during track season not one of CCHS’s athletes ran a 100 meter sprint in more than 30 seconds. So this is probably super slow and painful to watch. Over Curiosity’s two year mission it is anticipated to travel no less than 12 miles.
The landing spot, Gale Crater, on Mars was chosen out of a list of places because of the different attributes it has. Inside Gale Crater is a mountain rising 3.1 miles of layered rock. Since the mission is to look for any sign of possible life on this planet, one of the first things Curiosity will be doing is taking a look at a very dense and bright colored rock. This kind of rock is different from all other rock types inspected on Mars. It might just be a piece of an antediluvian playa lake deposit. The rocks from there will be checked for the existence of organic molecules. (Wiki)
Of course this crazily weighted will need insane amounts of power and I honestly think I should get extra-extra credit for writing this paragraph. Through the natural decay of a non-fissile isotope (see why I should extra-extra credit now? *nudge nudge*) of plutonium-238 generators produce electricity. Heat is given off by the decay regardless of the time of year or day. The heat is then turned into the electricity used to operate Curiosity. This method is an extremely smart move for NASA and MSL. Pu-238 has a half-life of 87.7 years giving it a long time to produce energy. (EPA)
If Curiosity gets the answers that we hope to achieve from this then this will be a major breakthrough. And even though I still can’t get over how super-duper slow this little (kind of big) piece of equipment goes I even hope the best for it. I hope this report this report cured your curiosity of Curiosity (good pun, ay?). So tune in August of 2012 if you want an update on what this little rover has to offer.
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