Mars Science Laboratory
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MSL cruise configuration
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| Mission type | Mars rover |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-070A |
| SATCAT № | 37936 |
| Website | http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ |
| Mission duration | Primary: 669 Martian sols (687 days) Elapsed: 1604 sols (1648 days) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | JPL, Lockheed Martin |
| Launch mass | 3,839 kg (8,463 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | November 26, 2011, 15:02:00.211 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas V 541 (AV-028) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Mars rover | |
| Landing date | August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTCSCET MSD 49269 05:50:16 AMT |
| Landing site | "Bradbury Landing" in Gale Crater 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E |
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Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a manned mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.
MSL successfully carried out the most accurate Martian landing of any known spacecraft, hitting a small target landing ellipse of only 7 by 20 km (4.3 by 12.4 mi), in the Aeolis Palus region of Gale Crater. In the event, MSL achieved a landing 2.4 km (1.5 mi) east and 400 m (1,300 ft) north of the center of the target. This location is near the mountain Aeolis Mons (a.k.a. "Mount Sharp"). The rover mission is set to explore for at least 687 Earth days (1 Martian year) over a range of 5 by 20 km (3.1 by 12.4 mi).
The Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort for the robotic exploration of Mars that is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology. The total cost of the MSL project is about US$2.5 billion.
Previous successful U.S. Mars rovers include Sojourner from the Mars Pathfinder mission and the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Curiosity is about twice as long and five times as heavy as Spirit and Opportunity, and carries over ten times the mass of scientific instruments.
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