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Mars Science Laboratory
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MSL will be twice as long and three times the weight of the Mars Exploration Rovers and will be the first spacecraft to land on its wheels. Having descended most of the way through the Martian atmosphere by parachute, MSL will be lowered to the ground by a Skycrane – a frame that carries propellant tanks, as well as two "outriggers" each equipped with a set of 700-pound-thrust rocket motors. This technique will allow MSL to reach sites, such as the floor of Valles Marineris (the great canyon system on Mars), that are inaccessible for present-day robotic explorers. Having maneuvered above a suitable landing spot, the Spaceframe will release the MSL, which will slide gently down a tether from a height of about 5 meters. On the ground it will deploy a suite of instruments with 10 times the mass of those carried by either Spirit or Opportunity and powered by a nuclear battery. A central goal of the mission will be to study habitability – the ability of Mars, past, present, or future, to sustain life. MSL is expected to operate for at least one Martian year, or roughly two Earth years.
Related categories
• MARS, UNMANNED SPACECRAFT
• SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES
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