MISSION NAME
MSL (Curiosity)
Status
Success
DATE
26 NOV 2011
LAUNCH PROVIDER
United Launch Alliance
Launch Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Description
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, featuring the renowned Curiosity rover, was designed to assess the planet's past and present habitability. Equipped with an array of advanced scientific instruments, including a drill and a sample analysis unit, Curiosity explored the Gale Crater, a site believed to contain evidence of ancient Martian environments. It delivered groundbreaking discoveries, including the detection of organic molecules and the confirmation of an ancient, potentially habitable lake bed.
Atlas V 541
Rocket Description
Atlas V with 5m Fairing, 4 SRB, 1 Centaur upper stage engine.