- NASA’s next Mars rover: Curiosity – Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s mega-Mars rover, Curiosity, is the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. It is slated to head for the red planet late next year.
Meanwhile, engineers and technicians are busily at work assembling and testing the huge robot at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The rover’s mobility system – its six wheels and suspension – is now in place after installation a few days ago.
Curiosity makes use of a rocker-bogie suspension system, hardware that resembles the systems on earlier, smaller Mars rovers. But for Curiosity, the wheels will also serve as landing gear. Each wheel is half a meter (20 inches) in diameter.
Mars Science Laboratory will rely on new technological innovations, especially for landing.
The spacecraft will descend on a parachute and then, during the final seconds prior to landing, lower the upright rover on a tether to the surface, much like a sky crane.
Once on the surface, the nuclear-powered rover will be able to roll over obstacles up to 75 centimeters (29 inches) high and travel up to 90 meters (295 feet) per hour. On average, the rover is expected to travel about 30 meters (98 feet) per hour, based on power levels, slippage, steepness of the terrain, visibility, and other variables.
Scientists are now coming to grips with identifying Curiosity’s landing zone when the robot touches down in 2012.
By LD/CSE