We know, not all water is safe to drink, but water only quenches the thirst, so we need it, however available, coz we just can’t do without. There are certain things though, that we can do without - but, is the word again - the unstill mind or the pioneering intellect, whatever it is, always prompts us humans to go that little extra. Spirit and Opportunity – they – are two rovers that have been traveling across the Mars’ surface for sometime now. So if the planet was all done with, now the beings are finding refuge in the extraterrestrial bodies, probably we may need that harbor soon, therefore the effort is commendable. How cool the symposia dedicated to the Martian rovers – past, present, and future would have been that comprised of a panel of elite participants viz NASA’s Richard Cook, Steven Squyres and Andrew Knoll, all master in their trait of unearthing the mysteries of life beyond the planet earth, can only be imagined, a dream act for all space buffs, and moreover so when it is all in the site of a new rover – the (MSL) Mars Science Lab Rover, one that’s scheduled for a probable next year launch, a Marian visit sometime in 2010.
In next to no time, people will be visiting the Red Planet to meet alien life, and it is all courtesy the scientists and these mechanical helpers. Latest in the procession of the mechanical aid is the MSL, a nuclear energy powered rover that is thought to be twice the weight of either Spirit or Opportunity. MSL is designed to last 20 years, travel 10 km, and comes equipped with a laser for vaporizing rocks. Along with its gas chromatographic capabilities, the rover is also outfitted with a camera that would assist in providing the best insight of the Martian water sources. Certainly, there is no question of whether there has been water on Mars, because surely there has been, but what has transformed over ages is probably what MSL with a more definitive mineral analysis, looking in for chemical composition of Martian water will determine. The MSL will by far be the largest mission mass to land on Mars therefore, it becomes all the more crucial for NASA’s Mars program, if the Marian anonymity has to be unraveled.
MSL Rover Picture Gallery
[Source: io9]
