Astrobiology Space Missions Codexery

Mars Science Laboratory

NASA robotic mission that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars.

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The Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology manages the MSL mission, which is a component of NASA's Mars Exploration Program.[1]

Key facts and history

The project suffered an 84 percent cost overrun as of 2012.[2] MSL launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011.[3] The rover Curiosity has a mass of 899 kg and can travel up to 90 m per hour on its six-wheeled rocker-bogie system.[4] Curiosity is powered by a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator and communicates in X band and UHF bands.[4]

The landing site, Gale Crater, was selected on July 22, 2011, after five workshops narrowed the list from 33 potential sites.[5][6] In 2003, the United States National Research Council Decadal Survey committee identified the Mars Science Laboratory as the highest-priority middle-class Mars mission.[7] NASA issued a call for instrument proposals in April 2004, and on December 14 of that year, eight proposals were chosen.[7] By November 2008, the majority of hardware and software development was finished, yet cost overruns had reached about $400 million.[8]

Because there was not enough time for testing, NASA moved the launch to late 2011, and the development costs ultimately totaled $2.47 billion.[9]

What the research sources say

Harwood reports that the entry, descent, and landing sequence begins 10 minutes before atmospheric entry when the cruise stage separates.[10] The NASA/JPL graphic of the final minutes states that the parachute deploys at about 10 kilometers altitude and 470 meters per second.[11] The same NASA source notes that the back shell separates from the descent stage at about 1.8 kilometers altitude, with the rover still moving at about 100 meters per second.[11] Harwood explains that the sky crane lowers the rover on a 25-foot-long tether about 15 seconds before touchdown.[10]

The NASA graphic indicates that the rover separates from the descent stage at about 20 meters altitude, with about 12 seconds to go before touchdown.[11] According to the Spaceflight Now report, the heat shield reaches peak temperatures of 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit one minute and 15 seconds after entry.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leone, "Mars Science Lab Needs $44M More To Fly, NASA Audit Finds", Space News International, July 8, 2011; Leone, "MSL Readings Could Improve Safety for Human Mars Missions", Space News, August 10, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "GAO Slams JWST, MSL Cost Overruns" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: NASA, "Cruise Configuration - Mars Science Laboratory" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission: Rover: Brains", NASA/JPL; Bajracharya, "Autonomy for Mars rovers: past, present, and future", Computer, December 2008, p. 45 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MSL Landing Site Selection User's Guide to Engineering Constraints", June 12, 2006; "MSL Workshop Summary", April 27, 2007; "Second MSL Landing Site Workshop"; GuyMac, "Reconnaissance of MSL Sites", HiBlog, January 4, 2008; "Site List Narrows For NASA's Next Mars Landing", Mars Today, November 19, 2008; "Current MSL Landing Sites", NASA; "Looking at Landing Sites for the Mars Science Laboratory", YouTube, May 27, 2009; "Final 7 Prospective Landing Sites", NASA, February 19, 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Presentations for the Fourth MSL Landing Site Workshop September 2010; Second Announcement for the Final MSL Landing Site Workshop and Call for Papers March 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Council, "New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy", 2002-07-11; Stathopoulos, "Mars Science Laboratory", Aerospace Guide, October 2011; Stathopoulos, "Mars Science Laboratory", Aerospace Guide, October 2011; Stathopoulos, "Mars Science Laboratory", Aerospace Guide, October 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: MSL Technical and Replan Status. Richard Cook. (January 9, 2009) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Mars Science Laboratory" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Craddock, "Suggestion: Stop Improving – Why does every Mars mission have to be better than the last?", Air & Space/Smithsonian, November 1, 2007; Nancy Atkinson, "Mars Science Laboratory: Still Alive, For Now", Universe Today, October 10, 2008; "Next NASA Mars Mission Rescheduled For 2011", NASA/JPL, December 4, 2008; "Mars Science Laboratory: the budgetary reasons behind its delay", The Space Review, March 2, 2009; Brown, "Mars Science Laboratory: the budgetary reasons behind its delay", The Space Review, March 2, 2009 (origina en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Curiosity relies on untried 'sky crane' for Mars descent", Spaceflight Now, July 31, 2012. facts only, no text reused. spaceflightnow.com
  11. "Final Minutes of Curiosity's Arrival at Mars", NASA/JPL. facts only, no text reused. nasa.gov

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Mars Science Laboratory (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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