Curiosity on track for August landing
Posted: Tue, Jun 12, 2012, 7:06 AM ET (1106 GMT)
Project engineers have narrowed the landing site for NASA's Curiosity Mars rover while the space agency played down a potential contamination issue with one of the rover's instruments. Officials said Monday they have revised the "landing ellipse", the targeted landing site for the rover, has shrunk from 20 by 25 kilometers to 7 by 20 kilometers, allowing a more precise landing near the base of Mt. Sharp, the peak in the middle of Gale Crater that will be the focus of the rover's scientific studies. The landing is scheduled for 1:31 am EDT (0531 GMT) August 6 and, if successful, the rover will begin at least two years of operations. NASA also acknowledged Monday an issue with a drill on the rover that could contaminate rock samples with flecks of Teflon from the drill bit. Project officials said there are workarounds to reduce or eliminate any effects of mixing Teflon with samples.
Project engineers have narrowed the landing site for NASA's Curiosity Mars rover while the space agency played down a potential contamination issue with one of the rover's instruments. Officials said Monday they have revised the "landing ellipse", the targeted landing site for the rover, has shrunk from 20 by 25 kilometers to 7 by 20 kilometers, allowing a more precise landing near the base of Mt. Sharp, the peak in the middle of Gale Crater that will be the focus of the rover's scientific studies. The landing is scheduled for 1:31 am EDT (0531 GMT) August 6 and, if successful, the rover will begin at least two years of operations. NASA also acknowledged Monday an issue with a drill on the rover that could contaminate rock samples with flecks of Teflon from the drill bit. Project officials said there are workarounds to reduce or eliminate any effects of mixing Teflon with samples.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Blue Origin announces new upper stage and engine for New Glenn
Posted: Sat, Nov 7 12:07 PM ET (1707 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, November 11
Firefly Aerospace Signs Multi-Launch Agreement with Synspective for up to 10 Alpha Missions Through 2030
Firefly Aerospace — 5:40 am ET (1040 GMT) Firefly Aerospace Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results With Record Backlog of $1.7 Billion
Firefly Aerospace — 5:40 am ET (1040 GMT) Air Force wants AI for cislunar space vehicles
Defensescoop — 5:39 am ET (1039 GMT) Blue Origin to bring 2,000 jobs to Hutto
Community Impact Newspaper — 5:29 am ET (1029 GMT) Advocates urge Cameron County leaders to reject $24B SpaceX data center and power plant
KRGV-TV Weslaco, TX — 5:25 am ET (1025 GMT) |
