Curiosity: Life on Mars?

Hello again! Construction of the rover exhibit is well underway, but we have yet to share our research on the star of the show: Curiosity. Curiosity has had a very successful mission on Mars and continues to explore the red planet to this day.

Curiosity's "selfie" at the "Big Sky" site, courtesy of NASA.

By the time that Spirit and Opportunity landed in 2004, NASA was already planning ahead for its next rover mission. After seven years of research and many scientific developments, the rover Curiosity was ready to travel to Mars. Curiosity is the size of a car (our replica is a 1:6 scale model) and it carries a slew of scientific instruments that allow it to explore in ways that the MER rovers never could, including the ability to gather soil and rock samples for testing. Curiosity is part of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission; its objective is to study Mars' climate and geology to discover whether Mars ever had an environment suitable for microbial life.

Curiosity launched on November 21, 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida and landed on August 6, 2011 (Eastern Time) in a meteor impact site known as Gale Crater. This landing, near Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons) in the center of the crater, was only possible because Curiosity's landing abilities were greatly improved from previous missions. Its design built on that of Spirit and Opportunity and makes several improvements. Among other differences, Curiosity runs on nuclear power as opposed to solar, meaning that it wouldn't shut down like Spirit if it got stuck. It is also twice as long and five times as heavy as the twins.

Gale Crater, courtesy of NASA.

Chief among Curiosity's tasks was to find evidence that Mars once had flowing water on its surface. Leading up to the recently announced discovery of liquid water by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Curiosity quickly built a strong case for the presence of ancient stream beds on Mars. Additionally, using its Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite (SAM) and other scientific instruments, it detected the presence of carbon and other elements and minerals necessary for life to develop. These promising discoveries, however, do not prove that life ever existed on Mars, and the dangerously high of radiation it detected during its flight ensure that life - in the form of human astronauts - won't walk on the Martian surface without significant technological advancements.

a 360-degree panorama of Curiosity's view from "Nauklift Plateau," courtesy of NASA.

During its four years of work, its many accomplishments include collecting the first Martian rock sample and gathering data that reveals crucial details about ancient Mars and its development over time. Curiosity is still exploring Mars today and, thanks to its nuclear power source, may continue exploring until 2067.

For more information about Curiosity and its mission, see its NASA website and the NASA Fact Sheet. For more detailed information about Curiosity's scientific instruments and other parts, try this interactive diagram. For a brief summary of Curiosity's "biggest" discoveries, read this article.

Opportunity: The Superior Twin

The Opportunity rover, Spirit’s twin, was also tasked with studying the rocks of Mars and learning more about the red planet. Opportunity was launched on July 7, 2003 and landed January 24, 2004. The mission length was meant to be 92.5 Earth days, however the mission is still ongoing.

Opportunity, like all rovers carries specific equipment to help it active its science goals.  Opportunity’s Scientific Payload includes; Panoramic Camera (Pancam): for determining the mineralogy, texture, and structure of the local terrain. Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES): for identifying promising rocks and soils for closer examination and for determining the processes that formed Martian  rocks. The instrument is designed to look skyward to provide temperature profiles of the Martian atmosphere. Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB): for close-up investigations of the mineralogy of iron-bearing rocks and soils. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS): for close-up analysis of the abundances of elements that make up rocks and soils. Magnets: for collecting magnetic dust particles. The Mössbauer Spectrometer and the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer are designed to analyze the particles collected and help determine the ratio of magnetic particles to non-magnetic particles. They can also analyze the composition of magnetic minerals in airborne dust and rocks that have been ground by the Rock Abrasion Tool. Microscopic Imager (MI): for obtaining close-up, high-resolution images of rocks and soils. Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT): for removing dusty and weathered rock surfaces and exposing fresh material for examination by instruments on board. 

During its time on Mars, Opportunity has been able to take several high resolution, full color images and send them back to Earth for viewing by scientists and the public. On March 24, 2015 Opportunity traveled 26.2221 miles with is only slightly longer then an Olympic Marathon. The yellow line below shows the distance the rover has traveled. The distance is cumulative as it makes its way from 

 Eagle Crater to Marathon Valley. Opportunity has given invaluable research on Mars and its environment to assist in our understanding of the planet. The most notable of these is the discovery of the previous existence of water in ancient creek beds.  In the summer of 2005 Opportunity was able to succeed where it's twin failed. The rover found itself stuck in a sandy dune but was able to dig itself out.  Opportunity is still on Mars running tests and studying the surface of Mars. Although it does so now with Curiosity, one never forgets their twin.

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 “Spirit and Opportunity,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/present/2003/

 “NASA”S Opportunity Mars Rover Passes Marathon Distance,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/newsroom/pressreleases/20150324a.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19933973/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/how-rovers-changed-our-view-mars/#.Vv2lXEc5TIA