Saturday, June 8, 2013

"Curiosity" is at 15 km / h on a long journey - THE WORLD

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handout NASA composite image shows a self-portrait of NASA's Mars Curiosity (2)

“Curiosity” is at 15 km / h on long voyages Then

Mars fans have been waiting for: After “Curiosity” for months explored its immediate surroundings, the rover will now start its journey to the 5500 meter high Mount Sharp – nice leisurely

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Then Mars fans have been waiting for: After “Curiosity” for months explored its immediate surroundings, the rover will now start its journey to the 5500 meter high Mount Sharp – nice leisurely

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The Mars rover “Curiosity” is on a great journey. Having a half year research only on a small piece of the surface of Mars, to research robot now break up towards the mountain Mount Sharp about eight miles away, as the U.S. space agency NASA announced.

Since “Curiosity” has a top speed of 0.15 kilometers per hour, it will probably take several months to his destination.

“We do not know when we will get there,” said NASA manager Jim Erickson. “This is an exploration mission – just because we ultimately want to Mount Sharp, that is not so, that we could not explore on the way too exciting things.”

Before leaving, “Curiosity” still a fast 1.6 centimeters wide and 6.6 centimeters deep hole in a “Cumberland” baptized stone was drilled on the surface of Mars and samples taken.

Thanks to the findings from the first drilling several weeks before the second had only about a quarter of the time needed shared with NASA. The rock samples were analyzed in the coming days with the help of the instruments of “Curiosity”.

The robot had taken a rock sample for the first time in February. Their analysis revealed that the Red Planet once had been the basis for microbial life. Thus, there was water on Mars with a relatively neutral pH.

“Curiosity” had landed after a more than eight-month journey through space on Mars early August last year. The approximately $ 2.5 billion (nearly 1.9 billion euros) expensive mission is designed for a period of two years.

The research robot should look on the red planet for signs of life and thus primarily of water.

Mars Curiosity robot

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