23 November 2011

MSL Launch Info

Posted by Ryan Anderson

MSL is ready for a launch on Saturday, and the forecast is looking good! In preparation for the launch there is a bunch of great information about the mission available online. First, I highly recommend taking a look at the press kit. It is impressively detailed (more than 60 pages!) but quite reader-friendly. You can also head over to the MSL website for lots of photos of the launch prep and new depictions of the rover and the landing site. I also recommend checking out the Planetary Society blog for info about how to view the launch, and a nice comparison of the various Mars rovers and Viking. Also, I put together a flyer for the ChemCam team. Click the small version below for a higher-res view.

A Mars rover family portrait (plus Viking and Sagan, to scale) from the Planetary Society Blog.

An oblique view of Gale with 2x vertical exaggeration. Elevation data is from HRSC, surface details are from CTX, color is from Viking.

Informational flyer for ChemCam that I put together.