We’re heading back to Mars to search for any clues that might
indicate life has or could exist on the big red planet. Of
course, by ‘we’ I mean the new Mars Science Laboratory known as
the Curiosity rover, the largest and most advanced rover that’s
ever been sent to Mars. The Curiosity is the size of a car or
small SUV and weighs approximately a ton, with a scientific
payload that’s ten times more massive than the instruments
carried by previous rovers. A few of the tools the mobile lab is
equipped with include cameras, a robotic arm, a drill, and a
laser that can vaporize tiny segments of rock that can then be
studied by on-board instruments. “The MSL rover is essentially
like a geologist in a self-contained laboratory,” says Wanda
Harding, the MSL’s mission manager for the Launch Services
Program, “and the capabilities that exist are probably the next
best thing to sending a human to do the same job.” Since
Curiosity is loaded with more equipment than previous rovers, a
different power source was needed bec