JPL/NASAVia Space.com, meet the Mars Science Labratory, the next generation in unmanned exploration vehicles.
Mars Science Laboratory: Big Wheels on A Red Planet
PASADENA, California – Make way Spirit and Opportunity – big daddy is coming!
The next wheels on the red planet will belong to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)—a huge step in how that planet is further poked, probed, and more fully plumbed for new information.
MSL is a huge chunk of machinery. At liftoff in September 2009, it will carry the largest, most advanced set of instruments for on-the-spot science duties ever dispatched to the martian surface. The nuclear-powered rover is being designed to assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life.
On one hand, MSL closes out an intensive period of surveying Mars…while setting the stage for an aggressive agenda of future robotic Mars exploration that ultimately leads to the planting of the first footprints on the red planet.
I loves me some space tech.
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1 comment:
Oooo a newklar powered rover!
Its supposed to last 2 years, but if it exceeds its design likde like the MERs have, it'll be around for a long time.
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