
With the Mars Curiosity landing just a few hours away I thought it would be a good time to list some facts about the rover and it’s mission.
Overview
- Curiosity is just the name of the rover; the overall mission is referred to as the Mars Science Laboratory or MSL
- Of the previous 39 missions to Mars, including orbiters and landers, only 15 have been successful
- All six successful landers have been NASA missions, though a Soviet lander did broadcast for 14 minutes before contact was lost
- The Mars Science Laboratory mission cost $2.5 billion which is about $1 billion over budget
The Rover
- The Curiosity rover weighs 900 kilograms
- When on Mars it will be able to move at 30 meters per hour depending on the terrain
- Curiosity has 17 cameras and 10 other scientific instruments
- These include a mobile organic chemistry lab and a laser that can vaporise rocks
- The rover is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator and lithium-ion batteries

The Journey
- The MSL was launched on the 26th November 2011 from Cape Canaveral
- The Mars Science Laboratory has travelled 560 million km to reach Mars a journey which has taken just over eight months
The Mission
- The main mission is expected to last for one Martian year or about 98 weeks
The MSL mission has four scientific goals:
- Determine whether Mars could ever have supported life
- Study the climate of Mars
- Study the geology of Mars
- Plan for a human mission to Mars
The Landing
- The landing will take place at the base of Mount Sharp inside the Gale Crater at about 05:31 UTC on August 6, 2012
- It will take about 7 minutes for the MSL to make its entry, descent, and landing once it reaches Mars’ atmosphere
- This seven minutes has been dubbed the “7 minutes of terror”, the video below explains everything that will occur during this period
A live broadcast of the landing can be watched here.
These are real planets that really happened
i know it happenedd
THIS IS QUITE INTERESTING AND I COULD JUST WATCH IT FOR HOURS
these facts will help me for a science project
This is awesome!!!!
I live on Mars, everyone seems so fascinated by it it’s not all that…. lol peace out ✌
i know
So cool I love it <3
yes they are real planets
Woooooowww
Cooooool
nice!!!
What?
Whoa! This really helped me so thanks! >~<
Wishing I could go to mars. 😛
I like venus tho 😛
Me too
kids, mars is cool but my personal favorite is Phobos, one of mars’ moons mainly because it is in Destiny.
Why should i go i mean i like mars
Thanks, helped so much
You are welcome I loved to helping you!!!!
I know how it happened because I work at the space craft missions I talk to the people on the spaceship its really cool to do that they tell a lot of things going on and its sometimes hard to try to control the channels to the same station
Wow. I am astounded, I really want to go to mars.
wow⚽️
this is awesome info I want to go to mars!!!!
cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool I looooooooooove it :3
This makes me want to go to mars
I love it too this is a great website!!!!
thx sooooooo helpful
Shayne cohen
I’m in school
Wow, cool!
THIS IS AWESOME 😀
That is so cool
I know right
It will help on me project. Thx cz its helpful n important
its cool ^.^
This is so cool!
Wow! This is so amazing it gave me goosebumps just at the beginning!
i feel like an astronomer
It was ok kind of helpful
This is so helpful, thanks!
The only reason I am on this site is cause the student teacher is doing a lesson but this is helpful and I made a on my test
the only reason im on this site is because were doing science
this is a cool site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey thats pretty good
THAT WAS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MARS ROCKS ARE BIG
AMAZING
cool
awsomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Wow. Cool!!
Same
This is so fun and the one i like the most is the milky way because when i think about it kinda makes my hungry from the milky way choclate bar and thats it
So I know it sounds like that but space people actually saw the Milky Way
This is so fun to get on and learn about space and the stuff they send out to space and the video was really cool cause you guys actually get to go out in space and do this stuff and I really want to be like you guys one day.
This is nice
Cool site
The beginning is so cool. I love the music! 🙂
Wow Ima go to Mars to help out with engineering
mars is just cool
I love earth.
Yeah earth is great
i like mars
I like mars to.
wow
I don’t think mars is very interesting.
mars is soooo interesting
mars is awesome
fun but earth is better
loved the small show of the mars landing
mars is awsome
I loved the Biggest Saturn because i like do you like it good about learn.
By Tanyah,Mum,Dad,Hepisipa,Tui
I lIKe MARS and TRAINS
I love mars so much!!!!
Hmmm… I’m currently a sophomore in college and I’m on this site to help me write my 750 word paper…
Don’t grow up too fast children!!
i <3 mars
<3 it
Cooool…..hhhhhahhhh
Is it possible to take leaving things on earth to mars to observe the effect of mars on the leaving things thank you.
this is soooooooooooooooooooo cool
my friend keeps asking quetions
Isn’t is AMAZING ;0
thats cool
cool
i want to go to mars
Doesn’t everyone???
awsome
mars is very close to earth and the sun and mars has no evidence of living life on it and it has 2 moons .
i like pie. not science
im in school
Great website !!! 🙂
hey earthlings and Malationa and Dumbalena do u guys wanna look at that rover later?
Mars is sooooooooo much cooler than Earth!
I LOVE MARS!!!!!
mars is cool
mars is cool and it is fasinatinating
This cool
I want to go to mars to
O my mars
mmmm ok nice dab on em kids learn and stay in school
So freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🙂 Good website. Gave me good tips
I LOVE MARS
Mars is cool
this a good web site
I love this its so fun and also Dubalena you don’t live on Mars. But that’s super funny
That is so cool
WOW
i really wish i was in mars and that robot is sooo coool
“I wish I was a robot” that would be cool… aside from the lack of independant thought
it no robot it b a rover
really cool facts
I really loved your website about mars LUVVVVVVVVVVVVVV OUTSTSANDING AMAZING THANKSSS
THIS IS AWESOME!
MARS IS AWESOME!
The ROBOT is celled a rover
This is awesome!!!
that was dope 🙂
yeah i know! so cool! I want to build a robot like that
WOAH WHAT A GOOD VIDEO
Such a good video learnt so many new facts
This is really surprising. It’s almost offensive how simple the sci-fi films make it seem.
I LIKE TURTLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The robots Really cool!!!!!!
okay thanks for the information and i really like learning about mars and the other planets on this site
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Helpful
THX
#FUN
i love robots
Sup this was useful thanks but on the screen
That is really awesome to me. I wish that we will be able to go int mars.
That is really cool. I wish I could go up to Mars, but I’m really good at sports so that may not happen.
I think this stuff is really cool.
This information is very useful and it helps me for my notes. I have a test next week for the quarter grade and lets just say, I learned a lot.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
This was so awesome I want to go to mars now. I wish I work in NASA. The video was very cool.
Aaaawwwwwwssssoooommmmeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this was helpful
Thank you SPACE FACTS for all this wonderful information. Now I know a lot about space and the planets. When my teacher teaches us in class I’ll understand what he’s talking about.