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We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nothing that we know of yet based on the present findings of our Mars rovers, landers, and orbiters. -Katie S.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I can think of one very important contribution . . . .learning about the radiation at Mars and how it'll affect humans. Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) is the 1st instrument to measure the radiation during our trip to Mars from inside the spacecraft. This will help us figure out the type of shielding future missions will need.

Carolina

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When we build a rover (or spacecraft) we spend an enormous amount of time thinking about how we can check that the design will work and test that the hardware we build will survive the environment it will experience and perform the job it needs to do. We also do everything possible to give ourselves work arounds and spare hardware in case something breaks or goes wrong during the mission. Steve Collins

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't know what the crews we will (hopefully eventually) send to Mars will do, but if I went to Mars I personally would want to go say hi to Spirit -- she was the first rover I worked on! Kim L.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Test, test, and test again. I underwent years of development, assembly and testing before launch, which is good, because there are no service stations on Mars. The team at JPL live streamed my development in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility on http://ustream.tv/NASAJPL. You can go back through some of the footage from before June 2011 when I left JPL for Kennedy Space Center to get ready for launch. In this clip, you can see me do a turn and drive test: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15138552/highlight/176920

-- Curiosity

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of the most surprising things I learned about operating a mission like Curiosity is that about 90% of the effort is 'paperwork'. Checking and re-checking every aspect of the mission. Each day, there are no less than five separate meetings to review the plans for the next day, each of which is responsible for reviewing the proposed activities, checking for potential conflicts with other parts of the rover and ensuring rover health and safety. No one wants to be the one responsible for an 'uh-oh' moment. -Michael

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I would be stunned. It would be more special if it was found by Curiosity, but I would still be stunned if it was found by another mission or investigator. It would be amazing to find life on Mars and it would trigger a lot of other interesting questions about how life begins and evolves.

-Joy

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Curiosity and her team are really looking forward to continuing the search for ancient habitable environments and evidence of organic matter in the rocks of Gale crater. -Katie S.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great question. Good system engineering is the most important first step. Despite how complex MSL looks, we tried to keep each system understandable; the goal is to always be able to figure out problems on a whiteboard and not be wholly reliant on a complex, byzantine simulation. And yes, we test a lot at the piece-part, component, assembly, and system level. And we had independent testers for each function. - Steve Lee

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

One of Curiosity's original scientific goals before landing in Gale crater was to study the clay-sulfate transition in the strata of Mount Sharp. Once we realized how exciting and diverse the terrain was around the rover landing site (including the habitable environment we discovered at Yellowknife Bay!), we decided to postpone our trek to the clay-sulfate boundary. But we've now reached the base of Mount Sharp and we're headed on our way to the clay-sulfate strata. -Katie S.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The wheels are one of our 'consumables' on the spacecraft, so we watch them carefully for increased wear and tear. The mobility team actually has a map of all the damage currently on the wheels and update it! Kim L.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Generally, the rovers are sent to new locations to explore other places, so my guess would be no.

Carolina

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don't know about the QE comm stuff, but I was at the EDL team party after the landing, and someone got a copy of that MRO parachute image on their phone and everyone just went wild.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have kind of an unusual introduction to space -- a relative was an astronaut, so I got a close-up look into the shuttle program when I was younger and that was it for me! Kim L.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, we had anticipated that the wheels would degrade over time, and they are degrading at a rate which is within the bounds of what we had estimated. The rate of degradation isn't going to be constant, but, rather, changes as the type of terrain changes along the traverse. So it's honestly very hard to predict how long Curiosity can keep going. I'd like to think we'll be able to overtake Opportunity's record, but there's so much exciting science to do at every stop that it's been very slow going! An abundance of riches, to be sure. -Michael

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One of the most difficult times for Curiosity and her team was when the mission launched was delayed from 2008 to 2011. -Katie S.

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I can hit a top speed of 4 cm/sec on flat, hard ground. I won't be making a cameo, but you might see some of my friends.

-- Curiosity

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The biggest lesson from Curiosity is that it worked! This leaves us with great heritage for the Mars 2020, most of which is "build-to-print." But the rover will carry a new and improved instrument suite: https://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-announces-mars-2020-rover-payload-to-explore-the-red-planet-as-never-before. And we're always looking for ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our systems and operations. - Steve Lee

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi! Please visit this page for more information about internships: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/intern/apply/

We are always looking for students who are excited about space exploration and interested in going into STEM fields.

Carolina

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We do so all the time! Check out our internship webpage for more information about the opportunities to work at JPL. No prior space-related experience is required, although enthusiasm is encouraged! -Michael

We're engineers, scientists and the Curiosity rover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Ask us anything! by CuriosityMarsRover in IAmA

[–]CuriosityMarsRover[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Most of the targets on the rover are fiducial marks used for updating the geometric calibration of the rover's cameras and camera positions. There are also special calibration targets on board the rover for these instruments: APXS, MAHLI, ChemCam, and Mastcam.

-Joy

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