Colorado has several connections to the next generation of Mars exploration
Mars Science Laboratory
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifted off Nov. 26, 2011, sending NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on its nine-month journey to the Red Planet. Also known as the Curiosity rover, this is the most complex Mars expedition to date. After landing on the Martian surface in August 2012, Curiosity will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, a habitable environment for microbial life.
Along with United Launch Alliance, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Littleton, Colo., and Sierra Nevada Corporation of Louisville, Colo., all provided crucial elements to the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Lockheed Martin designed and built the aeroshell system for the MSL. The aeroshell will protect the spacecraft during its deep space journey to Mars, and shield it from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. The MSL aeroshell is the largest to date at 15 feet in diameter.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems delivered the descent system that will lower the Curiosity rover to the planet's surface as the final step in the landing sequence. SNC also built the precision gearbox assemblies that power the rover’s instruments needed to drill, collect, and analyze samples of the Martian soil.
Centennial, Colo.-based United Launch Alliance provided the Atlas V rocket and launch services for the mission. MSL is the last of five critical missions ULA launched for NASA within a six-month period.
For more information, visit NASA's MSL website or checkout this article from TIME.
