Launch of the Spirit Rover Toward Mars
Explanation:
Next stop:
Mars.
Last month the first of
two missions to Mars
was launched from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida,
USA above a
Boeing
Delta II rocket.
Pictured above, solid fuel boosters are seen falling
away as light from residual exhaust is reflected by the
soaring rocket.
The
Mars Exploration Rover dubbed Spirit is expected to arrive
at the red planet this coming January.
Upon
arriving,
parachutes will deploy to slow the spacecraft and surrounding
airbags will inflate.
The balloon-like package will then bounce around the
surface a dozen times or more before coming to a stop.
The airbags will then deflate, the
spacecraft will right
itself,
and the Spirit rover will prepare to roll onto Mars.
The
robotic Spirit is expected to cover as much as 40 meters per day,
much more than
Sojourner,
its 1997 predecessor.
Spirit will search for evidence of
ancient Martian water,
from which implications might be drawn about the possibility of
ancient Martian life.
A second rover named Opportunity was
successfully launched
on July 7 and will arrive at Mars a few weeks later.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
