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WHAT'S NEW What's New | Newsroom View By Year:    2007    2008    2009 View By News Type:    Press Releases    Spotlights    All 10.30.09 A Mars Rover Named "Curiosity" NASA's next Mars rover, a super-capable robot named "Curiosity," will push Mars exploration to a new level. Spotlight 08.19.2009 Spring Training for the Rover Science Team Just as baseball players must train together before the season starts, the science team for "Curiosity" must be in top shape to operate the rover's 10 science instruments when it lands on Mars in 2012. Spotlight 06.12.2009 The Rover Gets Strong-Armed The Mars Science Laboratory rover will sport the biggest, toughest robotic arm the red planet's ever seen! This super-limb must lift 34 kilograms (almost 75 pounds) of instruments to reach out and test martian rocks and soil, which may hold clues about whether Mars could have supported life. Spotlight 06.08.2009 'Curiosity,' Meet Clara Twelve-year-old Clara Ma flew from Kansas to JPL to meet and sign the next rover that will zoom millions of miles to Mars. The trip is Clara's prize for winning an essay contest in which she named the rover "Curiosity." Spotlight 04.22.2009 Parachute During Tests for Mars Science Laboratory Testing during March and April 2009 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., qualified the parachute for NASA's next Mars rover. Spotlight 04.22.2009 Large Parachute for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory The parachute for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission opens to a diameter of nearly 16 meters (51 feet). This image shows a duplicate qualification-test parachute inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Spotlight 04.22.2009 Mars Parachute Testing in World's Largest Wind Tunnel The parachute for NASA's next mission to Mars passed flight-qualification testing in March and April 2009 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, to be launched in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012, will use the largest parachute ever built to fly on an extraterrestrial mission. This image shows a duplicate qualification-test parachute inflated in an 80-mile-per-hour (36-meter-per-second) wind inside the test facility. The parachute uses a configuration called disk-gap-band. It has 80 suspension lines, measures more than 50 meters (165 feet) in length, and opens to a diameter of nearly 16 meters (51 feet). Most of the orange and white fabric is nylon, though a small disk of heavier polyester is used near the vent in the apex of the canopy due to higher stresses there. It is designed to survive deployment at Mach 2.2 in the Martian atmosphere, where it will generate up to 65,000 pounds of drag force. Spotlight 04.22.2009 Open Parachute During Tests for Mars Science Laboratory Testing during March and April 2009 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., qualified the parachute for NASA's next Mars rover. The parachute for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, to be launched in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012, is the largest ever built to fly on an extraterrestrial mission. Spotlight 04.22.2009 Parachute Opening During Tests for Mars Science Laboratory Testing during March and April 2009 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., qualified the parachute for NASA's next Mars rover. The parachute for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, to be launched in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012, is the largest ever built to fly on an extraterrestrial mission. Spotlight 04.14.2009 Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Qualification Testing The parachute for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory passed flight-qualification testing in March and April 2009 inside the world's largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Spotlight 03.28.2009 Heavy Duty Trust Building Trust--it's vital for each step of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Engineers must trust each other and all the tests they've done while building the rover. Spotlight 02.24.2009 Mars Science Laboratory Talks, Rocks, Bakes and Chills Before leaving Earth, Mars Science Laboratory is really put to the test to make sure it can survive the trip to the red planet.