March. This is currently home to the most technologically advanced rover ever built. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a specially designed mission that allows scientists to study on Earth any condition in which past or present life can be found on this desolate planet. To carry out this mission on the planet itself, they use Curiosity, a high-tech rover. In this article, you will learn about the rover specifications, pre-launch preparations, flight to Mars, landing, and the types of experiments Curiosity is conducting on Mars. This is the Mars Science Laboratory. Before launching any type of spacecraft, thousands of hours of preparation must be done to ensure that everything works in perfect order, functions correctly, and fits together. This $2.5 billion project carries the most expensive Mars rover ever built. Its name is Curiosity. Curiosity is 9 feet 10 inches long, 9 feet 1 inch wide, has wheels with a diameter of 20 inches and weighs 2,000 pounds. The “main attraction” of this mission, however, was curiosity. Curiosity was built here in La Canada Flintridge at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The rover was built in a special room called the “Clean Room”. It's a room with white walls, ceiling and floor that allows scientists to see any dirt or other terrestrial substances that might attach to the rover. The reason the rover needs to be completely clean is mainly because they don't want to contaminate a new planet with bacteria or viruses that live on Earth and get into Mars' water supplies if they are discovered. At JPL, the rover, entry capsule, sky crane, and heat shield were all built. Once completed, these components traveled on an Army C-130 to Cape Canaveral, Flori...... middle of paper ...... that's pretty slow. He only travels a few kilometers per year. Curiosity has already discovered ancient waterways, as well as minerals and chemicals that could support life. These are just some of the major advances made by Curiosity. Thanks to all the hard work JPL scientists have put into the Mars Science Laboratory, we have been able to better understand what Mars is like and what kind of life, if any, there is. is capable of surviving on Mars. Curiosity also shows how our space program is progressing in such a way that we may be able to send a human being to Mars within the next century. This is what makes the Mars Science Laboratory so technologically and scientifically amazing. You could say that this mission was a bit out of a science fiction book. But that's not the case. It's very real and it works as we sit here today. Who knows what lies in store for Mars exploration in the future? ?.