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Blobrana


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Mars Science Laboratory mission
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Mars Science Laboratory Mission Status Report

During processing of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, Fla., an incident occurred on Friday, May 20, involving the spacecraft's back shell.
A crane lift of the hardware caused unexpected mechanical loads on interfaces between the back shell and its ground support equipment. These interfaces are used during ground operations in preparation for launch. A structural assessment of the back shell was performed in the area of these interfaces.
Inspections and analyses through Monday, May 23, have not identified any damage. Flight processing is expected to continue this week.

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Blobrana


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Mars Science Lab Hardware Damaged

The backshell for the Mars Science Laboratory was damaged last week at Kennedy Space Center when it was lifted improperly, according to Aviation Week. Engineers are now Experts are examining the backshell to determine the nature of the damage and how serious it is.
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Where should NASA land its next Mars rover?

With NASA's rover Curiosity due to blast off for Mars in November, the debate over the most interesting place to send it is coming to a head. The stakes are high: the $2.5 billion mission offers the best chance yet of finding hints of past life on the planet.
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NASA is close to deciding on a landing site for its Mars rover Curiosity mission after years of poring through images, with a shortlist now down to four.
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Gale crater located near the Martian equator possesses a 3-mile-high mound of layered mineral deposits.
Mawrth Vallis is an ancient flood channel in the Martian northern highlands that is rich in clay minerals.
Eberswalde crater in the southern hemisphere contains remnant of a river delta.
Holden crater, close to Eberswalde, is the site of water-carved gullies and sediment deposits.



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Blobrana


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Mars Mission Components Delivered to Florida

An Air Force C-17 transport plane delivered the heat shield, back shell and cruise stage of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, Fla., on May 12, 2011. The heat shield and back shell together form the aeroshell, which will encapsulate the mission's rover and descent stage. The cruise stage will perform critical communication and navigation functions during the flight from Earth to Mars.
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Blobrana


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Curiosity rover
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New Mars Rover to Feature Morse Code

As the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) builds the next Mars rover -- this one is named Curiosity -- to deploy to the red planet in the fall of 2011, they're having a little fun with it.
 Curiosity didn't need holes in its wheels for attaching to any lander -- there isn't one. So the engineers got to make the markers in any shape they wanted to
So what pattern did JPL choose to put on Curiosity's wheels? One that Emily Lakdawalla called "very amusing. The holes are in a pattern of short squares and longer rectangles -- almost like dots and dashes. Morse code".  And what does it spell out in Morse code? JPL.

J . - - -
P . - - .
L . - . .

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Curiosity Update: Curiosity's Stunt Double Takes a Spin



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Blobrana


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NASA's Next Mars Rover Nears Completion

Assembly and testing of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is far enough along that the mission's rover, Curiosity, looks very much as it will when it is investigating Mars.
Testing continues this month at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., on the rover and other components of the spacecraft that will deliver Curiosity to Mars. In May and June, the spacecraft will be shipped to NASA Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where preparations will continue for launch in the period between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, 2011.
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Work Stopped on Alternative Cameras for Mars Rover

The NASA rover to be launched to Mars this year will carry the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument already on the vehicle, providing the capability to meet the mission's science goals.
Work has stopped on an alternative version of the instrument, with a pair of zoom-lens cameras, which would have provided additional capabilities for improved three-dimensional video. The installed Mastcam on the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover uses two fixed-focal-length cameras: a telephoto for one eye and wider angle for the other. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built the Mastcam and was funded by NASA last year to see whether a zoom version could be developed in time for testing on Curiosity.
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Plutonium concerns addressed for upcoming rocket launch

NASA and Brevard County emergency leaders are launching a campaign to reassure the public steps are being taken to make an upcoming rocket launch as safe as possible.
The 9-foot-long, nearly 2,000-pound rover is powered by plutonium. There is concern radiation could be released should the rocket explode over Florida's East Coast.
Officials briefed Brevard County Commissioners about the upcoming launch Tuesday morning.
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Next Mars Rover Gets a Test Taste of Mars Conditions

A space-simulation chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is temporary home this month for the Curiosity rover, which will land on Mars next year.
Tests inside the 7.6-metre-diameter chamber are putting the rover through various sequences in environmental conditions resembling Martian surface conditions. After the chamber's large door was sealed last week, air was pumped out to near-vacuum pressure, liquid nitrogen in the walls dropped the temperature to minus 130 degrees Celsius (minus 202 degrees Fahrenheit), and a bank of powerful lamps simulated the intensity of sunshine on Mars.
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