Weighing in at one ton and nearly the size of a car, NASA’s
newest Mars rover, dubbed Curiosity, beamed out its first
photograph from another planet early Monday morning, much to the
relief of a team of anxiously awaiting, Earth-based mission
controllers. With a price tag of $2.5 billion, Curiosity’s
mission is to determine whether or not Mars once had the ability
to sustain life. A bevy of instrumentation, including a spectral
analyzer and other sophisticated devices, are among the tools in
Curiosity’s belt. One person here in Hazard who is excitedly
watching the rover’s mission unfold is Tom Cravens, director of
the Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky located on the campus
of Hazard Community and Technical College. “I think I’m like
most Americans,” Cravens said. “I think everybody’s excited
about it.” The Challenger Center is the only such center of its
kind in Eastern Kentucky, and serves as an avenue for young
children to get a feel for what space exploration may be like.
One of the center’s programs