NASA Mars Rover Set for Launch this Weekend
By: Andrew Fazekas
This Saturday, on November 25, 2011, at 10: 20 a.m the time is set for the NASA Mars Rover named Curiosity to launch to Mars on a nine month journey in order to find out the answer to many questions of scientists and find clues. Scientists want this rover to find clues about if there is life on Mars or if there ever was life. If this robot does not launch on its proper date it has until December 18 to launch again. After its 9 month journey until August 2012 it will enter the Red Planet’s atmosphere at the speed of 21,000 km per hour. After entering Mars’ atmosphere it will slow down to 1,600 km per hour and then it will detach from its backshell and when it is traveling only 2 miles per hour its sky carne will float away. After this the rover is planned to descend to the ground of Mars. The goal of the place of the Rovers landing place is the Martian equator. This rover will be the most powerful rover to ever explore the surface of Mars but it will need to charge to recover and get energy for the next day. Scientists believe that the Gale center; one of Mars’ Carters has been filled with water about 3 billion years ago so that would be a great place to start searching for life.
This article is connected to science because even today scientists are trying to find out how life came to Earth. One of the ideas is that life came to Earth is that it came from space so if this rover investigates if there is life on Mars it could bring scientists closer to an answer. I think that this article was very interesting for me because I really like learning about space and space exploration going on in the world. Also, reading this article I realized that today is the day when this NASA Curiosity Rover was launched so I felt very excited. I hope that scientists find out answers to all their questions during this exploration and I hope everything during the Rovers journey goes well.
Also, here is a video that of the rover’s journey:
WOW that super cool how they are trying to see how and if there is life up in mars and it is cool how the robot or spaceship needs so much energy! of course it can travel soooo far but thats pretty cool also did you say that the spaceship splits into parts like it leaves those parts in earth but what does it do with them? I also think that it is great that scientists are still trying to find life up in the planets because you bet that there might be something interesting up there. I also like to learn about space and all of the other things you said i thik that the vidio is also very cool. ALSO i just read up top that mars used to be all water did i read correctley but how did the water stay in that shap and stuff mabye it stays together because of the lack of gravity mabye that is why it stays up but how come there is no water left and if there is no water left then what is there?? Did i read that correctley??? Anyway GREAT ARTICLE AND GREAT SUMMERY!!!!! :)
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