File:MSL_cruise_stage_configuration_(PIA14831).png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Mars Science Laboratory
Sign in to saveAlso known as MSL
Mars mission by NASA, with rover named "Curiosity"
Key facts
- Mission type
- Mars rover
- Operator
- NASA
- Cospar id
- 2011-070A
- Website
- science.nasa.gov
- Mission duration
- Primary: 669 sols (687 days) Time since landing: 4914 sols (13 years, 9 months, 28 days)
- Manufacturer
- JPL
- Launch mass
- 3,839 kg (8,463 lb)
- Launch date
- November 26, 2011, 15:02:00.211 ( 2011-11-26UTC15:02 ) UTC
- Rocket
- Atlas V 541 (AV-028)
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral SLC-41
- Contractor
- United Launch Alliance
- Spacecraft component
- Curiosity
- Landing date
- August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC, (13 years, 9 months and 28 days ago)
- Landing site
- Bradbury Landing , Gale Crater , 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417
- Distance driven
- 36.9 km (22.9 mi) as of 12 May 2026
via Wikipedia infobox
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars's habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a human mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.
Overview
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mars Science Laboratory” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (12)
On the map
5 mapped locations