Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA’s newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.
Nicknamed Curiosity and scheduled for launch Saturday, the rover has a 7-foot arm tipped with a jackhammer and a laser to break through the Martian red rock. What really makes it stand out: It can analyze rocks and soil with unprecedented accuracy.
“This is a Mars scientist’s dream machine,” said NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ashwin Vasavada, the deputy project scientist.
Once on the red planet, Curiosity will be on the lookout for organic, carbon-containing compounds. Though the rover can’t detect the presence of living organisms, scientists hope to learn from the $2.5 billion, nuclear- powered mission whether Mars has ever had what it takes to nurture microbial life.