The landing-site specialist
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 08:01
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Gale crater has been sitting just below the equator of Mars, minding its own business, for at least three and half billion years. But in August 2012, a capsule is going to come screaming out of the sky, then brake its fall by popping a parachute and engaging rocket thrusters. After that, the "sky crane" inside the capsule will activate to lower the subcompact-car-sized Curiosity rover on tethers, suspending it beneath the rest of the craft until the whole assembly descends onto a carefully chosen patch of ground at the northwestern end of the 96-mile-diameter crater.