On August 6, 2012, the American rover Curiosity landed on Mars. Equipped with a variety of scientific instruments, the device will look for traces of water and organic matter on the surface of the red planet, conduct geological research, and study the planet's climate.
The Curiosity rover (from the English "Curiosity"), aka MSL - Mars Science Laboratory ("Mars Science Laboratory") was launched on November 26, 2011 from Cape Canaveral and in early August 2012 safely landed on Mars. It is the heaviest spacecraft ever launched to Mars, weighing up to a ton. In a few months, he will have to overcome up to 20 kilometers, carrying out numerous scientific studies.
The main task of Curiosity is to study the Martian soil. The presence of spectrometers, laser and other equipment allows the device to conduct on-site study of soil samples and transmit the results to the Earth. MSL's primary mission is to find water and organic matter in Martian soil. The presence of organic matter will indicate that once there was life on Mars. It should be noted that the search for water will be carried out using the Russian instrument "DAN" (Dynamic neutron albedo). It will allow probing a layer of soil up to one meter thick.
Curiosity is equipped with several color and black and white cameras. Colored ones are capable of transmitting a high-quality image of the Martian surface, black-and-white ones are mainly used when moving the spacecraft. Placed on the sides, they provide a stereometric image, allowing you to correctly assess the nature of the surface.
The rover has already transmitted the first photographs to Earth. You can find them on the NASA page on the Curiosity mission. Follow the link below, find the Mission Images section in the central column of the page. In it you can see the photos transmitted by the rover - both color and black and white. New photos will be added to the site as they become available. You can also watch a computer video on the website, which shows the MSL landing scheme and its work on Mars.
Scientists expect that the new rover will be able to work for at least one Martian year, which is 686 Earth days. Since the device receives energy not from solar batteries, but from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, Curiosity can conduct research in the conditions of the Martian night.
