[meteorite-list] Next Mars Rover Sports a Set of New Wheels (MSL)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 14:47:14 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201007012147.o61LlEB6019592_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-221

Next Mars Rover Sports a Set of New Wheels
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
July 01, 2010

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, is sitting pretty
on a set of spiffy new wheels that would be the envy of any car show on
Earth.

The wheels and a suspension system were added this week by spacecraft
technicians and engineers. These new and important touches are a key
step in assembling and testing the flight system in advance of a planned
2011 launch.

Curiosity, centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is a
six-wheeler and uses a rocker-bogie suspension system like its smaller
predecessors: Spirit, Opportunity and Sojourner. Each wheel has its own
drive motor, and the corner wheels also have independent steering
motors. Unlike earlier Mars rovers, Curiosity will also use its mobility
system as a landing gear when the mission's rocket-powered descent stage
lowers the rover directly onto the Martian surface on a tether in August
2012.

In coming months at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mobility
system will get functional testing and be part of environmental testing
of the rover. The mobility system will now stay on Curiosity through
launch unless testing identifies a need for rework that would require it
to be disassembled.

The mission will launch from Florida during the period Nov. 25 to Dec.
18, 2011. Curiosity will examine an area of Mars for modern or ancient
habitable environments, including any that may have also been favorable
for preserving clues about life and environment, though this mission
will not seek evidence of life. It will examine rocks, soil and
atmosphere with a diverse payload of tools, including a laser to
vaporize patches of rock from a distance and an instrument designed to
test for organic compounds.

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

2010-221
Received on Thu 01 Jul 2010 05:47:14 PM PDT