Mars RoverCuriosity

• Operator : NASA International team• Website : mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/• Mission duration : 1453 days (as of July 29, 2016)• Manufacturer : Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),

Boeing, Lockheed Martin• Dry mass : 899 kg• Launch date : November 26, 2011, 15:02:00

UTC• Landing date : August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC • Dimension : 2.9m (l) x 2.7m (w) x 2.2m (h)

History of Rovers

Name Country

Description Date

Lunokhod 0 Russia (Soviet Union)

- Intended to be the first roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon

- Crashed during a failed start

19 February 1969

Name Country

Description Date

Lunokhod 1 Russia (Soviet Union)

- first roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon

- Used to analyse the lunar soil

17 November 1970 (landed) – 14 September 1971 (last contacted)

Name Country

Description Date

Apollo 15 USA - Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle

- Analyses the surface material of moon

30 July 1971 (landed) – 2 August 1971 (Depart)

Apollo 16 USA 21 April 1972 (landed) – 24 April 1972 (Depart)

Apollo 17 USA 11 December 1972 (landed) – 14 December 1972 (Depart)

Name Country

Description Date

Lunokhod 2 Russia - Second roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon

- Used to analyse the lunar soil

15 January 1973 (landed) – September 1974 (final contact)

Name Country

Description Date

Prop-M Rover Russia (Soviet Union)

- A small 4.5kg Mars rover connected to Soviet Mars 2 or 3 (Mars landers)

- Was not deployed due to crash start

27 November 1971

Name Country

Description Date

Marsokhod Russia (Soviet Union)

- Was a heavy Soviet rover aimed at Mars

- Supposed to be launched by a rocket that never arrived to fly

1973

Name Country

Description Date

Lunokhod 3 Russia (Soviet Union)

- Intended to be the third roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon

- Mission was cancelled due to lack of funding

1977

Name Country

Description Date

Sojourner USA - Part of NASA’s mission - Mars Pathfinder

- First rover to successfully reach another planet

4 July 1997 (landed) – 27 September 1997 (final data transmission)

Name Country

Description Date

Spirit USA - One of two of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission

- Became stuck in late 2009

4 January 2004 (landed) – 22 March 2010 (last communication)

Name Country

Description Date

Opportunity USA - Spirit’s twin

- Currently hold’s the record for longest distance travelled on other planet

25 January 2004 (landed) - current

Name Country

Description Date

Curiosity USA - Part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory

- In search for evidence of past or present life on Mars

6 August 2012 (landed) - current

Name Country

Description Date

Yutu China - Part of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (Chang’e 3)

- China’s first lunar rover

14 December 2013 (landed) - current

Operation of Curiosity

• Powered by electricity produced by the decaying of radioactive isotopes• Power source generates 2.5kWh each day and charges two

rechargeable lithium-ion batteries • Equipped with six 50cm diameter wheels• Each wheel can be steered independently • Can withstand a tilt of at least 50° in any direction without

overturning, but automatic sensors will limit the rover from exceeding 30° tilts• Capable of climbing slopes up to 12.5° • Can travel up to 90 metres per hour but average speed is

about 30 metres per hour

Capabilities and Functionality

Instruments DescriptionMast Camera (MastCam)

- Provides two cameras – Medium Angle Camera (MAC) & Narrow Angle Camera (NAC)

- Captures true-colour images at 1600 x 1200 pixels

- Records 720p video up to 10fps- MAC has a 34mm focal length with a

15° field of view- NAC has a 100mm focal length with

a 5.1° field of view- Each camera has eight GB of flash

memory

Instruments DescriptionChemistry and Camera complex (ChemCam)

- Consists of Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) & Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope

- LIBS is used to provide elemental compositions of rock and soil

- RMI will send images of sampling areas of rock and soil that LIBS targets

- LIBS able to target samples up to 7m away

- Has the ability to record up to 6144 different wavelengths of light

Instruments DescriptionNavigation Cameras (NavCams)

- Has two pairs of black and white navigation cameras

- Each have a 45° angle of view - Uses visible light to capture

stereoscopic 3D imagery

Instruments DescriptionRover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)

- Comprises instruments to measure the Mars’ humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speed, and ultraviolet radiation

Instruments DescriptionHazard Avoidance Cameras (HazCams)

- Has four pairs of black and white navigation cameras

- Used for safe positioning of the robotic arm on rocks and soils

- Uses visible light to capture stereoscopic 3D imagery

- Have a 120° field of view

Instruments DescriptionMars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)

- A camera situated on the robotic arm- Acquires microscopic images of rock

and soil- Able to capture true-colour images at

1600 x 1200 pixels- Has a 33.8° to 38.5° field of view

Instruments DescriptionAlpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)

- Irradiates samples with alpha particle and maps the spectra of X-rays for determining the composition of samples

Instruments DescriptionChemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin)

- Can identify and quantify the abundance of the minerals on Mars

- Resulting fine powder from drilled rocks is poured into the instrument to be examined via X-rays

Instruments DescriptionSample Analysis at Mars (SAM)

- Analyses organics and gases from atmosphere and soil

Instruments DescriptionDust Removal Tool (DRT)

- A motorised, wire-bristle brush on the end of the robotic arm

- Used for cleaning rocks for better examination

Instruments DescriptionRadiation Assessment Detector (RAD)

- To characterise the spectrum of radiation environment on the surface of Mars

- Also to determine the shielding needs for potential human explorers

Instruments DescriptionDynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN)

- A detector for measuring hydrogen, ice and water on Martian surface

Instruments DescriptionMars Descent Imager (MARDI)

- Allows the mapping of surrounding of the landing location

- Able to take colour images at 1600 x 1200 pixels

- Has a 90° circular field of view- Has eight GB of internal memory - Capable to store over 4000 raw

images

Instruments DescriptionRobotic Arm - A 2.1m long robotic arm holding five

devices- Able to spin through a 350° turning

range - Has a mass of 30kg- Have mechanisms for scooping,

sieving, and portioning samples of rock and soil

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

• Uses MSLICE (Mars Science Interface) designed by NASA’s Ames Research Centre, Moffett Field, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)• Built by using Open Source Software (Eclipse, Java, Rhino,

etc)• A collaborative software tool that will enable scientists and

engineers to view data products from Mars, select targets, prepare rover activities and command sequences• Ensures that mission scientists can work closely with both

rover and instrument engineers to create a plan that will maximize scientific data and be safe for the rover to perform• Generates detailed commands to be send to the rover

Advantages and Disadvantages of Curiosity (compared with Opportunity)

Curiosity Terms Opportunity899 kg Mass 185 kg

Nuclear-powered Power Source Solar-powered

1453 days Mission Duration (as of July 29, 2016)

4569 days

14 Total Number of Instruments

9

90m/s Top Speed 5cm/s

6 Types of Camera 4

160 MHz RAD750 CPU 20 MHz RAD6000

50° Maximum Tilt (Without

Overturning)

30°

*Bold = Advantage

State of Research and Development

• Curiosity has been fully developed and is currently in full working condition on Mars.• Curiosity has been on Mars for 1453 total days since

landing on August 6, 2012. (as of July 29, 2016)• Has a central computer that constantly monitors the

health of the spacecraft, checks to make sure commands are being executed, and handles communications to and from Earth as well as to spacecraft orbiting Mars• Each day, engineers on Earth send a sequence of computer

instructions for the day's activities to the rover