[meteorite-list] NASA Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site (MSL)

[Ron Baalke]

June 11, 2012

Dwayne Brown 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1726 
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

Guy Webster 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 
818-354-6278 
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 12-192

NASA MARS ROVER TEAM AIMS FOR LANDING CLOSER TO PRIME SCIENCE SITE

WASHINGTON -- NASA has narrowed the target for its most advanced Mars 
rover, Curiosity, which will land on the Red Planet in August. The 
car-sized rover will arrive closer to its ultimate destination for 
science operations, but also closer to the foot of a mountain slope 
that poses a landing hazard. 

"We're trimming the distance we'll have to drive after landing by 
almost half," said Pete Theisinger, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) 
project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 
Pasadena, Calif. "That could get us to the mountain months earlier." 

It was possible to adjust landing plans because of increased 
confidence in precision landing technology aboard the MSL spacecraft, 
which is carrying the rover. That spacecraft can aim closer without 
hitting Mount Sharp at the center of Gale crater. Rock layers located 
in the mountain are the prime location for research with the rover. 

Curiosity is scheduled to land at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5 
(1:31 a.m. EDT, Aug. 6). Following checkout operations, Curiosity 
will begin a 2-year study of whether the landing vicinity ever 
offered an environment favorable for microbial life. 

Theisinger and other mission leaders described the target adjustment 
during a June 11 update to reporters Monday about preparations for 
landing and for operating Curiosity on Mars. 

The landing target ellipse had been an ellipse approximately 12 miles 
wide and 16 miles long (20 kilometers by 25 kilometers). Continuing 
analysis of the new landing system's capabilities has allowed mission 
planners to shrink the area to approximately 4 miles wide and 12 
miles long (7 kilometers by 20 kilometers), assuming winds and other 
atmospheric conditions as predicted. 

Even with the smaller ellipse, Curiosity will be able to touch down at 
a safe distance from steep slopes at the edge of Mount Sharp. 

"We have been preparing for years for a successful landing by 
Curiosity, and all signs are good," said Dave Lavery, MSL program 
executive. "However, landing on Mars always carries risks, so success 
is not guaranteed. Once on the ground we'll proceed carefully. We 
have plenty of time since Curiosity is not as life-limited as the 
approximate 90-day missions like NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers and 
the Phoenix lander." 

Since the spacecraft was launched in November 2011, engineers have 
continued testing and improving its landing software. MSL will use an 
upgraded version of flight software installed on its computers during 
the past two weeks. Additional upgrades for Mars surface operations 
will be sent to the rover about a week after landing. 

Other preparations include upgrades to the rover's software and 
understanding effects of debris coming from the drill the rover will 
use to collect samples from rocks on Mars. Experiments at JPL 
indicate that Teflon from the drill could mix with the powdered 
samples. Testing will continue past landing with copies of the drill. 
The rover will deliver the samples to onboard instruments that can 
identify mineral and chemical ingredients. 

"The material from the drill could complicate, but will not prevent 
analysis of carbon content in rocks by one of the rover's 10 
instruments. There are workarounds," said John Grotzinger, MSL 
project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in 
Pasadena. "Organic carbon compounds in an environment are one 
prerequisite for life. We know meteorites deliver non-biological 
organic carbon to Mars, but not whether it persists near the surface. 
We will be checking for that and for other chemical and mineral clues 
about habitability." 

Curiosity will be in good company as it nears landing. Two NASA Mars 
orbiters along with a European Space Agency orbiter will be in 
position to listen to radio transmissions as MSL descends through 
Mars' atmosphere. 

The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate 
in Washington. Curiosity was designed, developed and assembled at 
JPL. 

Follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: 

http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity 

http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity 

For more information on the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission, 
visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/msl 
	
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