The Curiosity rover, (the Mars Science Laboratory), is coming together for launch to the Red Planet. This past week, Bill Harwood described how the rover will land on Mars. Continuing analysis of the geometry and communications options for the arrival at Mars have led planners for the Mars Science Laboratory to choose an Earth-to-Mars trajectory that schedules launch between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, 2011. Landing will take place between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20, 2012.
In the nearly 50-years of exploring Mars, humans have gained significant knowledge on which to build future missions by the Americans, the Russians, the Chinese and the Europeans.
Thirty-five years ago the first landing probes launched for Mars from Cape Canaveral. The Viking missions reached for the surface of Mars for the first time with 'lift-off'. The science data from the two 1976 landing site missions remain a hot science topic to this day as the Mars science community continues to seek knowledge of the neighboring planet.
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