God Speed Mars Rover Curiousity

I am super excited about this! I hope it goes well! I will be watching!

chuck

Mission name: Mars Science Laboratory

Rover name: Curiosity rover

Size: About the size of a small SUV — 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall — (about 3 meters long (not including the arm), 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall), or about the height of a basketball player.

Arm Reach: About 7 feet (2.2 meters)

Weight: 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds)

Features: Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras

Mission: To search areas of Mars for past or present conditions favorable for life, and conditions capable of preserving a record of life

Launch:
7:02 a.m. PST, Nov. 26, 2011
(10:02 a.m. EST)

Landing:
10:31 p.m. PDT, Aug. 5, 2012
(1:31 a.m. EDT, Aug. 6, 2012)

Watch the landing:
Curiosity’s Landing

Live NASA TV show begins
Aug. 5, 2012, 8:30 p.m. PDT
(11:30 p.m. EDT):
NASA TV

Length of mission on Mars: The prime mission will last one Mars year or about 23 Earth months.

Mission Fact sheet: Download the Mars Science Laboratory Fact Sheet (PDF, 768 KB)