|
| programme = Mars rovers (NASA) | previous_mission = ''Spirit'Opportunity'' | next_mission = Mars 2020 }} ''Curiosity'' is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL).〔 ''Curiosity'' was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC.〔〔 The Bradbury Landing site was less than from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a journey.〔〔 The rover's goals include: investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for future human exploration.〔〔 ''Curiosity'' design will serve as the basis for the planned Mars 2020 rover. In December 2012, ''Curiosity'' two-year mission was extended indefinitely.〔 == Goals and objectives == As established by the Mars Exploration Program, the main scientific goals of the MSL mission are to help determine whether Mars could ever have supported life, as well as determining the role of water, and to study the climate and geology of Mars.〔〔 The mission will also help prepare for human exploration.〔 To contribute to these goals, MSL has eight main scientific objectives:〔 ;Biological:
;Geological and geochemical:
;Planetary process:
;Surface radiation:
About one year into the surface mission, and having assessed that ancient Mars could have been hospitable to microbial life, the MSL mission objectives evolved to developing predictive models for the preservation process of organic compounds and biomolecules; a branch of paleontology called taphonomy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Curiosity (rover)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|