Practicing for Mars Operations

We are getting ready for doing experiments on Mars after Curiosity lands at the field site in Gale Crater. It's quite exciting to realize we are only three and a half months from landing, and now we can really think about the environment we came to explore. The crater is full of interesting scientific opportunities, and it will be hard not to want to explore every interesting feature we find. But to get a look at the biggest possible picture of Mars history, we will have to focus and remember that Mt Sharp (the mound in the center of the crater) beckons.

Going to Mars with a big team is a bit like living out Star Trek for me-- we interact with each other, with the other payload investigations and with Mars on a daily basis for two years. We are certain to learn surprising things about not only Mars, but about ourselves as well. While we may not be physically present, our technology-- the extension of our senses will go a long way toward helping us imagine what it would be like to physically be in the field exploring another planet. While many of my colleagues have quite a bit of experience exploring Mars with the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, this is my first Mars mission, and even though I've been working on it for seven years, I am a freshman at this Mars Science Academy. This is one of the coolest things I will have a chance to do in my lifetime.

After a successful launch on Saturday morning, we waited anxiously to learn that the spacecraft had separated from the launch vehicle. Indeed, the separation maneuver was beautiful, and Mars Science Laboratory is on its way to Mars. In eight and a half months Curiosity will land and begin exploring Gale Crater. Our two year (well, one Mars year) mission is to learn if Mars is or ever was a habitable planet.

This is the first post to this blog, and I have just returned home from launch week, so I'll keep it short for the moment. But I'll recommend that you check out the many You Tube videos of MSL launch and also separation of the spacecraft from launch vehicle.