PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's next Mars rover will land at the foot
of a layered mountain inside the planet’s Gale Crater. The car-
sized Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is scheduled to
launch late this year and land in August 2012. The target crater
spans 96 miles (154 kilometers) in diameter and holds a mountain
rising higher from the crater floor than Mount Rainier rises
above Seattle. Gale is about the combined area of Connecticut
and Rhode Island. Layering in the mound suggests it is the
surviving remnant of an extensive sequence of deposits. The
crater is named for Australian astronomer Walter F. Gale. "Mars
is firmly in our sights," said NASA Administrator Charles
Bolden. "Curiosity not only will return a wealth of important
science data, but it will serve as a precursor mission for human
exploration to the Red Planet." During a prime mission lasting
one Martian year -- nearly two Earth years -- researchers will
use the rover's tools to study whether the landing region had
favorable environmental co