When looking at the engineering side of the Curiosity, a question comes into mind: What makes it so special? In other words, what are the components and properties of Curiosity that sets it apart from previous models? Let’s start with a curious fact: Curiosity is the size of a Mini-Cooper automobile. It is a lot bigger than previous models, for it has to carry more scientific instruments. A total of 11 scientific instruments are planned and 17 cameras would be used.
One of the most important instruments in the curiosity is its 7 feet robotic arm. It is used to drill, brush and take magnifying images of rocks. The drill enters the rock and collects the powder that is made. It is then transferred to the rover to investigate what minerals are present, as well as the whole composition of the rock. The minerals found in this rock powder will help scientists at NASA determine the environmental conditions of Mars at an earlier period.
The main instruments on board the Curiosity are:
• The Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) , which identifies and measures the minerals on Mars, such as olivine, pyroxenes, hematite, goethite, and magnetite.
• The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM), which is in charge of finding compounds of the element of carbon, like methane, and other lighter elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen which are essential to life.
• The MastCam, on top of the curiosity, has “a big eye” that shoots a laser at rocks to create sparks. The color of those sparks is measured to know what these rocks and soils are made out of. The MastCam can also take high definitions videos at 10 frames per second. This and other cameras are used to have a clear 360ยบ view of the surroundings of the Curiosity.
• The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS), which was given by the Spanish government to the NASA, is a mechanism that measures and provides “daily and seasonal reports” on air and ground temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, and ultraviolet radiation.
• The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) has received the responsibility to identify every high energy radiation on the Martian surface. This will help us equip future astronauts, so that they will be protected from harmful radiation. Curiosity’s components and scientific instruments provide us with the confidence that the composition of the red planet won’t be a mystery for much longer.
Engineering Group: William Valverde, Andy Alfonso, Irene Isabel Vargas, Albert Zapata
Resources: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/cameras/mardi/
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