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Curiosity (rover)
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Curiosity
Mission type
Mars Rover
Operator
NASA
International team
COSPAR ID
2011-070A
Website
mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
Mission duration
668 Martian sols (23 Earth months) primary mission.
Current: 457 days,
445 sols since landing
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Boeing* Lockheed Martin
Launch mass
900 kilograms (2,000 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date
26 November 2011, 15:02:00.211 (2011-11-26UTC15:02Z) UTC
Rocket
Atlas V 541 (AV-028)
Launch site
Cape Canaveral LC-41
Orbital parameters
Reference system
Heliocentric (transfer)
Mars rover
Spacecraft component
Rover
Landing date
August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC SCET
MSD 49269 05:50 AMT
Landing site
Aeolis Palus ("Bradbury Landing") in Gale Crater.
4°35'31?S 137°26'25?E? / ?4.59194°S 137.44028°E? / -4.59194; 137.44028
(4°35'22?S 137°26'30?E? / ?4.5895°S 137.4417°E? / -4.5895; 137.4417)
Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL).Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 10:02 EST aboard the MSL spacecraft and successfully landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 563,000,000 km (350,000,000 mi) journey.The rover's goals include: investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for future human exploration.Curiosity's design will serve as the basis for a planned Mars 2020 rover mission. In December 2012, Curiosity's two-year mission was extended indefinitely.In April and early May 2013, Curiosity went into an autonomous operation mode for approximately 25 days during Earth-Mars solar conjunction. During this time, the rover continued to monitor atmospheric and radiation data, but did not move on the Martian surface.
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