[dramatic percussion music]
- HEY, AND WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, ALICIA SEARS.
SO YOU ALL HAVE HEARD OF MARS, THE RED PLANET,
OUR NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR, IF YOU WILL.
THIS PLANET IS FULL OF MYSTERIES.
SOME SCIENTISTS EVEN BELIEVE THAT MARS
USED TO BE A LOT LIKE EARTH BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.
IT ONCE HAD RIVERS AND LAKES
AND POSSIBLY EVEN SUPPORTED SOME FORM OF LIFE.
BUT HOW DO YOU TEST IDEAS LIKE THOSE
ON A PLANET THAT IS MILLIONS OF KILOMETERS AWAY?
WELL, WHERE DO SCIENTISTS DO THEIR BEST RESEARCH WORK
HERE ON EARTH?
IN THE LAB, RIGHT?
SO WHY NOT SEND A LABORATORY TO MARS?
AND THAT'S JUST WHAT NASA HAS PLANNED.
THE GROUNDBREAKING MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY
IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE "CURIOSITY" ROVER,
AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE SCIENCE
TO THE SURFACE OF THE RED PLANET
LIKE NOTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE ON MARS
OR ANY OTHER PLANET BEYOND EARTH.
LET'S TALK WITH ASHWIN VASAVADA,
DEPUTY PROJECT SCIENTIST FOR MSL,
TO GET A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT INTO THIS ENORMOUS MISSION.
- THE PRIMARY SCIENTIFIC GOAL OF THE "CURIOSITY" ROVER
IS TO FIND EVIDENCE FOR A HABITABLE ENVIRONMENT
ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.
WE HAVE LOTS OF DATA FROM ORBITERS.
WE HAVE PICTURES SHOWING PLACES
THAT LOOK LIKE WATER WAS FLOWING IN THE PAST.
OUR LANDING SITES THAT WE'RE CHOOSING FROM
ALL CONTAIN THAT SORT OF MINERALOGICAL
AND GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR A HABITABLE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO PUT A ROVER ON THE GROUND
TO REALLY CONFIRM THAT THAT WAS THE CASE.
WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING FOR LIFE,
BUT WE'RE LOOKING FOR PLACES ON MARS
THAT WE CAN SORT OF CONFIRM
THAT THIS IS A FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT TO LIFE,
WHETHER IT EVER TOOK HOLD THERE OR NOT.
SO THIS ROVER IS DESIGNED TO DRIVE MULTIPLE MILES
AROUND A SPECIFIC LANDING SITE
THAT WE DETERMINE FROM ORBIT LOOKS LIKE ONE
OF THESE POTENTIALLY HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS,
AND THEN IT'S DESIGNED TO TAKE LOTS OF IMAGES OF THAT AREA
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY TO SAMPLE THE ROCKS AND SOIL
TO DIRECTLY LOOK FOR EVIDENCE THAT WATER EXISTED IN THE PAST,
THAT CERTAIN CHEMICALS WERE THERE THAT LIFE USES,
AND THEN ALSO TO LOOK FOR THE HAZARDS TO LIFE.
- "CURIOSITY" WILL CARRY THE MOST ADVANCED PAYLOAD
OF SCIENTIFIC GEAR EVER USED ON MARS' SURFACE,
A PAYLOAD MORE THAN TEN TIMES AS MASSIVE
AS THOSE OF EARLIER MARS ROVERS.
TO CARRY A BIG PAYLOAD,
NASA'S GOING TO NEED A BIG ROVER.
AND THE ROVER IS THE SIZE OF A SMALL CAR.
BUT LANDING SOMETHING THAT BIG ON ANOTHER PLANET
HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.
- WE HAVE A GIANT ROVER. IT'S A 2,000-POUND ROVER.
IT'S THE BIGGEST THING
WE'VE EVER SENT TO ANOTHER PLANETARY SURFACE.
AND JUST LANDING THAT ON A PLANET WITH AN ATMOSPHERE
IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES.
- WHEN THE SPACECRAFT CARRYING "CURIOSITY" ARRIVES AT MARS,
IT WILL BEGIN ITS DESCENT INTO THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE,
AND THE CRAFT WILL BE GUIDED BY SMALL ROCKETS
AS IT MAKES ITS WAY TOWARD THE SURFACE.
A HUGE PARACHUTE WILL THEN DEPLOY
TO FURTHER SLOW THE SPEED OF THE DESCENDING SPACECRAFT.
THE SPACECRAFT WILL OPEN,
AND THE ROVER WILL EVENTUALLY SEPARATE
FROM ITS FINAL DELIVERY SYSTEM, THE SKY CRANE.
LIKE A CRANE ON EARTH,
THE SKY CRANE TOUCHDOWN SYSTEM WILL LOWER MSL
UNTIL IT ACHIEVES A SOFT LANDING ON THE SURFACE.
THE BEST PART OF ALL OF THIS: WE'LL GET TO SEE IT.
- ONE OF THE MORE EXCITING THINGS WE'RE DOING IS,
WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING A MOVIE AS WE'RE DESCENDING
THE FINAL FEW MILES IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
THIS IS MOSTLY JUST FOR THE PUBLIC
TO SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE
OF ARRIVING AND LANDING ON A PLANETARY SURFACE.
- I'LL DEFINITELY BE TUNING IN TO WATCH THAT.
SINCE "CURIOSITY" IS CARRYING SO MANY INSTRUMENTS,
THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME REALLY EXCITING SCIENCE TAKING PLACE.
- SO THE MSL ROVER IS MORE COMPLEX THAN ANYTHING
MOSTLY BECAUSE IT HAS TEN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HAS ALSO A LOT OF EQUIPMENT
TO ENABLE THE SCIENCE TO BE DONE.
WE HAD TO DESIGN A SYSTEM
THAT COULD DRILL INTO SOLID ROCK
AND TURN THAT ROCK INTO POWDER
THAT YOU THEN COULD FEED TO A CHEMISTRY LABORATORY
WHICH IS LOCATED INSIDE THE ROVER.
ANOTHER REALLY CLEVER INSTRUMENT THAT WE HAVE ON THIS ROVER
IS A WAY OF REMOTELY DETECTING
THE CHEMISTRY OF THE ROCKS AND SOILS AROUND THE ROVER.
AND THIS IS AN INSTRUMENT
THAT'S MOUNTED UP ON THE MAST NEAR THE CAMERAS.
IT ACTUALLY IS A TELESCOPE THAT FIRES A LASER,
AND SO WE CAN FIRE A LASER AT A ROCK AND SOIL TARGET
UP TO ABOUT 20 FEET AWAY FROM THE ROVER,
AND THEN WE IMAGE THE COLOR OF THAT SPARK,
AND THE COLOR ACTUALLY TELLS US WHAT THE CHEMISTRY IS,
WHAT CHEMICAL ELEMENTS ARE PRESENT,
AND THEN FROM THAT, WE CAN SORT OF PUT TOGETHER
A PICTURE OF WHAT MINERALS ARE PRESENT.
AND SO THIS IS KIND OF NEAT.
WE CARRY A LITTLE LASER RAY GUN WITH US
AND CAN ZAP THINGS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S AROUND US.
- AND MSL LOOKS TO BE GEARING UP FOR THE LONG HAUL.
- YEAH, THE MSL MISSION IS DESIGNED
TO LAST TWO YEARS ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE.
WE THINK, IN ORDER TO REALLY CHARACTERIZE THIS LANDING AREA,
WE NEED TO TAKE SEVERAL DOZEN SAMPLES,
AND THAT'S JUST GOING TO TAKE THE FULL TWO YEARS
TO DRIVE AROUND AND TO PUT THE SAMPLES
THROUGH OUR SAMPLE PROCESSING SYSTEM,
ANALYZE IT IN OUR INSTRUMENTS, AND SEND THAT DATA BACK.
THE LAST SET OF ROVERS WERE DESIGNED FOR 90 DAYS,
BUT THEY'VE NOW LASTED SIX YEARS.
NOW WE HAVE TO BEAT THE RECORD SET BY THE PREVIOUS ROVERS,
SO WE'RE DESIGNED FOR TWO YEARS,
AND WE HOPE WE LAST, YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
- SO WHAT WILL MSL TEACH US
ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY OF MARS?
WHAT NEW QUESTIONS WILL SCIENTISTS HAVE
AFTER THEY LEARN THIS NEW INFORMATION?
WHAT NEW INSTRUMENTS ARE ENGINEERS GOING TO NEED
TO ANSWER THE NEW ROUND OF QUESTIONS?
HMM.
"CURIOSITY" MIGHT JUST BE THE BEST NAME
FOR THIS NEW ROVER AFTER ALL.
THAT'S IT FOR THIS EPISODE.
I'M ALICIA SEARS.
CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."