Mars Science Laboratory

Overview

Goals and objectives

• Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds
• Investigate the chemical building blocks of life
• Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes

• Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials
• Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils

• Assess long-timescale Martian atmospheric evolution processes
• Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide

• Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including cosmic radiation, solar particle events and secondary neutrons. As part of its exploration, it also measured the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it traveled to Mars, and it is continuing radiation measurements as it explores the surface of Mars. This data would be important for a future human mission.

Specifications

Spacecraft

• MSL EDL Instrument : The MEDLI project's main objective is to measure aerothermal environments, sub-surface heat shield material response, vehicle orientation, and atmospheric density. The MEDLI instrumentation suite was installed in the heatshield of the MSL entry vehicle. The acquired data will support future Mars missions by providing measured atmospheric data to validate Mars atmosphere models and clarify the lander design margins on future Mars missions. MEDLI instrumentation consists of three main subsystems: MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs, Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System and the Sensor Support Electronics.

  Rover

• Computers: The two identical on-board rover computers, called "Rover Compute Element", contain radiation-hardened memory to tolerate the extreme radiation from space and to safeguard against power-off cycles. Each computer's memory includes 256 KB of EEPROM, 256 MB of DRAM, and 2 GB of flash memory. This compares to 3 MB of EEPROM, 128 MB of DRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory used in the Mars Exploration Rovers.

• Communications: Curiosity is equipped with several means of communication, for redundancy. An X band Small Deep Space Transponder for communication directly to Earth via the NASA Deep Space Network and a UHF Electra-Lite software-defined radio for communicating with Mars orbiters. The X-band system has one radio, with a 15 W power amplifier, and two antennas: a low-gain omnidirectional antenna that can communicate with Earth at very low data rates, regardless of rover orientation, and a high-gain antenna that can communicate at speeds up to 32 kbit/s, but must be aimed. The UHF system has two radios, sharing one omnidirectional antenna. This can communicate with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter at speeds up to 2 Mbit/s and 256 kbit/s, respectively, but each orbiter is only able to communicate with Curiosity for about 8 minutes per day. The orbiters have larger antennas and more powerful radios, and can relay data to Earth faster than the rover could do directly. Therefore, most of the data returned by Curiosity is via the UHF relay links with MRO and ODY. The data return during the first 10 days was approximately 31 megabytes per day.
• Mobility systems: Curiosity is equipped with six wheels in a rocker-bogie suspension, which also served as landing gear for the vehicle, unlike its smaller predecessors. The wheels are significantly larger than those used on previous rovers. Each wheel has cleats and is independently actuated and geared, providing for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks. The four corner wheels can be independently steered, allowing the vehicle to turn in place as well as execute arcing turns. Each wheel has a pattern that helps it maintain traction and leaves patterned tracks in the sandy surface of Mars. That pattern is used by on-board cameras to judge the distance traveled. The pattern itself is Morse code for "JPL". Based on the center of mass, the vehicle can withstand a tilt of at least 50 degrees in any direction without overturning, but automatic sensors will limit the rover from exceeding 30-degree tilts.

  Instruments

• Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer : This device can irradiate samples with alpha particles and map the spectra of X-rays that are re-emitted for determining the elemental composition of samples.
• CheMin: CheMin is short for 'Chemistry and Mineralogy', and it is an X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analyzer. It will identify and quantify the minerals present in rocks and soil and thereby assess the involvement of water in their formation, deposition, or alteration. In addition, CheMin data will be useful in the search for potential mineral biosignatures, energy sources for life or indicators for past habitable environments.
• Sample Analysis at Mars : The SAM instrument suite will analyze organics and gases from both atmospheric and solid samples. This include oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of Mars in order to distinguish between their geochemical or biological origin.
• Radiation Assessment Detector : This instrument was the first of ten MSL instruments to be turned on. Both en route and on the planet's surface, it characterized the broad spectrum of radiation encountered in the Martian environment. Turned on after launch, it recorded several radiation spikes caused by the Sun. NASA scientists reported that a possible human mission to Mars may involve a great radiation risk due to energetic particle radiation detected by the RAD while traveling from the Earth to Mars.
• Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons : A pulsed neutron source and detector for measuring hydrogen or ice and water at or near the Martian surface. On August 18, 2012 the Russian science instrument, DAN, was turned on, marking the success of a Russian-American collaboration on the surface of Mars and the first working Russian science instrument on the Martian surface since Mars 3 stopped transmitting over forty years ago. The instrument is designed to detect subsurface water.
• Rover Environmental Monitoring Station : Meteorological package and an ultraviolet sensor provided by Spain and Finland. It measures humidity, pressure, temperatures, wind speeds, and ultraviolet radiation.
• Cameras: Curiosity has seventeen cameras overall. 12 engineering cameras and five science cameras. MAHLI, MARDI, and MastCam cameras were developed by Malin Space Science Systems and they all share common design components, such as on-board electronic imaging processing boxes, 1600×1200 CCDs, and a RGB Bayer pattern filter.
• * MastCam: This system provides multiple spectra and true-color imaging with two cameras.
• * Mars Hand Lens Imager : This system consists of a camera mounted to a robotic arm on the rover, used to acquire microscopic images of rock and soil. It has white and ultraviolet LEDs for illumination.
• ChemCam: Designed by Roger Wiens is a system of remote sensing instruments used to erode the Martian surface up to 10 meters away and measure the different components that make up the land. The payload includes the first laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy system to be used for planetary science, and Curiosity fifth science camera, the remote micro-imager. The RMI provides black-and-white images at 1024×1024 resolution in a 0.02 radian field of view. This is approximately equivalent to a 1500 mm lens on a 35 mm camera.
• Mars Descent Imager : During the descent to the Martian surface, MARDI acquired 4 color images per second, at 1600×1200 pixels, with a 0.9-millisecond exposure time, from before heatshield separation at 3.7 km altitude, until a few seconds after touchdown. This provided engineering information about both the motion of the rover during the descent process, and science information about the terrain immediately surrounding the rover. NASA descoped MARDI in 2007, but Malin Space Science Systems contributed it with its own resources. After landing it could take per pixel views of the surface, the first of these post-landing photos were taken by August 27, 2012.
• Engineering cameras: There are 12 additional cameras that support mobility:
• * Hazard avoidance cameras : The rover has a pair of black and white navigation cameras located on each of its four corners. These provide close-up views of potential obstacles about to go under the wheels.
• * Navigation cameras : The rover uses two pairs of black and white navigation cameras mounted on the mast to support ground navigation. These provide a longer-distance view of the terrain ahead.