Hello All!   
      
   Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site    
      
   June 11, 2012: NASA has narrowed the target for its most advanced Mars rover,   
   Curiosity, which will land on the Red Planet in August. The car-sized rover   
   will touch down closer to its ultimate destination for science operations, but   
   also closer to the foot of a mountain slope that poses a landing hazard.    
      
   "We're trimming the distance we'll have to drive after landing by almost   
   half," said Pete Theisinger, Mars Science Laboratory project manager at NASA's   
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "That could get us to the mountain months earlier."    
      
   http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15685.html   
      
   This image shows changes in the target landing area for Curiosity, the rover   
   of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory project. Image credit: NASA/JP   
   -Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS    
      
   It was possible to adjust landing plans because of increased confidence in   
   precision landing technology aboard the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft,   
   which is carrying the Curiosity rover. That spacecraft can aim closer without   
   hitting Mount Sharp at the center of Gale crater. Rock layers located in the   
   mountain are the prime location for research with the rover.    
      
   Curiosity is scheduled to land at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5 (1:31   
   a.m. EDT, Aug. 6). Following checkout operations, Curiosity will begin a   
   two-year study of whether the landing vicinity ever offered an environment   
   favorable for microbial life.    
      
   Theisinger and other mission leaders described the target adjustment during an   
   update to reporters on Monday, June 11, about preparations for landing and for   
   operating Curiosity on Mars.    
      
   http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html   
      
   An artist's concept of Curiosity at work on Mars. [more] The landing target   
   ellipse had been approximately 12 miles wide and 16 miles long (20 kilometers   
   by 25 kilometers). Continuing analysis of the new landing system's   
   capabilities has allowed mission planners to shrink the area to approximately   
   4 miles wide and 12 miles long (7 kilometers by 20 kilometers), assuming winds   
   and other atmospheric conditions are as predicted.    
      
   Even with the smaller ellipse, Curiosity will be able to touch down at a safe   
   distance from steep slopes at the edge of Mount Sharp.    
      
   "We have been preparing for years for a successful landing by Curiosity, and   
   all signs are good," said Dave Lavery, Mars Science Laboratory program   
   executive at NASA. "However, landing on Mars always carries risks, so success   
   is not guaranteed. Once on the ground we'll proceed carefully. We have plenty   
   of time since Curiosity is not as life-limited as the approximate 90-day   
   missions like NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix lander."    
      
   Curiosity will be in good company as it nears landing. Two NASA Mars orbiters,   
   along with a European Space Agency orbiter, will be in position to listen to   
   radio transmissions as Mars Science Laboratory descends through Mars'   
   atmosphere.    
      
   For more information on the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission, visit:   
   http://www.nasa.gov/msl   
      
      
   Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA   
      
   More Information    
      
   This mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in   
   Washington. Curiosity was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. Caltech   
   manages JPL for NASA.    
      
   Follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at:   
   http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity   
   http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity   
      
   Since the Mars Science Lab spacecraft was launched in November 2011, engineers   
   have continued testing and improving its landing software. Mars Science   
   Laboratory will use an upgraded version of flight software installed on its   
   computers during the past two weeks. Additional upgrades for Mars surface   
   operations will be sent to the rover about a week after landing.    
      
   Other preparations include upgrades to the rover's software and understanding   
   effects of debris coming from the drill the rover will use to collect samples   
   from rocks on Mars. Experiments at JPL indicate that Teflon from the drill   
   could mix with the powdered samples. Testing will continue past landing with   
   copies of the drill. The rover will deliver the samples to onboard instruments   
   that can identify mineral and chemical ingredients.    
      
   "The material from the drill could complicate, but will not prevent analysis   
   of carbon content in rocks by one of the rover's 10 instruments. There are   
   workarounds," said John Grotzinger, the mission's project scientist at the   
   California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "Organic carbon compounds in   
   an environment are one prerequisite for life. We know meteorites deliver   
   non-biological organic carbon to Mars, but not whether it persists near the   
   surface. We will be checking for that and for other chemical and mineral clues   
   about habitability."   
       
      
   Regards,   
      
   Roger    
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LA - (1:3828/7)