NASA's most advanced Mars rover to date is in its final stages of preparation at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Officially named "Mars Science Laboratory," the 9-foot-long, six-wheel-drive, robotic research vehicle will hitch a ride atop an Atlas V rocket ready and waiting for the high-tech buggy at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Twice the length of earlier Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity and weighing nearly one ton Curiosity is equipped with a 7-foot long robotic arm designed to be used for up close study of near objects such as rocks and soil.
The state of the art rover also dawns a 7-foot retractable mast equipped with cameras and a laser-firing instrument which has the ability to vaporize rock enabling Curiosity to study selected targets at a greater distance.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/314302#ixzz1dbQxLMpp
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