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Mars Rover is launched on voyage to look for evidence of water
Cape Canaveral, June 11: A rocket holding the first of two Mars Rovers blasted off on Tuesday on a seven-month voyage to the Red planet where the golf-car-sized vehicles will search for evidence that there was once enough water to support life on Mars.
Cape Canaveral, June 11: A rocket holding the first of
two Mars Rovers blasted off on Tuesday on a seven-month voyage to the Red planet where the golf-car-sized vehicles will search
for evidence that there was once enough water to support life
on Mars.
The Rover named spirit lifted off from the Cape Canaveral
Air Force station aboard a Boeing Delta II Rocket at 2328 IST.
Thunderstorms had delayed the launch by two days, and launch officials contended with a last-minute communications glitch between stations that will track the spacecraft. The second rover, named opportunity, will be launched later this month, and both are expected to arrive at Mars in January.
Moving on six wheels, the $800 million rovers act as robotic geologists. Each is equipped with a panoramic camera, a camera for close-up views of rocks and a drill to cut into rocks. The data is transmitted back to earth.
The Rovers' landing sites, on opposite sides of the planet, were chosen for their likelihood of holding evidence of water. Studying the minerals in rocks can tell scientists how the rocks were formed, whether they were ever submerged, and whether hot water ever ran over them.
Only 12 out of 30 previous attempts have reached mars, and only three out of nine attempts have succeeded in landing on the planet.
Thunderstorms had delayed the launch by two days, and launch officials contended with a last-minute communications glitch between stations that will track the spacecraft. The second rover, named opportunity, will be launched later this month, and both are expected to arrive at Mars in January.
Moving on six wheels, the $800 million rovers act as robotic geologists. Each is equipped with a panoramic camera, a camera for close-up views of rocks and a drill to cut into rocks. The data is transmitted back to earth.
The Rovers' landing sites, on opposite sides of the planet, were chosen for their likelihood of holding evidence of water. Studying the minerals in rocks can tell scientists how the rocks were formed, whether they were ever submerged, and whether hot water ever ran over them.
Only 12 out of 30 previous attempts have reached mars, and only three out of nine attempts have succeeded in landing on the planet.
Bureau Report