If you were watching on NASA TV, as we at DIT were, you probably saw the celebration when it landed.
The rover, Curiosity, is the size of a small car, has a nuclear power source, and is, therefore, expected to be able to operate for several years.
It has a 200 pound payload consisting of 10 instruments and 17 cameras.
One of the instruments is reportedly a type of ray gun which can blast and burst rocks so they can be studied in more detail.
So why is this landing on Mars, which has taken about 10 years since its inception and has cost about $2.5 billion to US Taxpayers, important?
Well, it seems that Scientists are trying to find evidence of life elsewhere than here on planet earth and with this attempt their focus is on Mars.
They will be looking for fossils, studying the atmosphere, checking for Carbon ratios in the atmosphere, checking to see if methane present, and more.
Bottom line, they hope to find evidence of LIFE on Mars either now or in the past and to determine IF Mars can support life in the future.
AIG has some thoughts about the search for alien life. HERE'S THE LINK.
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