Title:
Curiosity Rover: 'A Mars Scientist's Dream Machine'
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
The American space agency launched its Mars Science
Laboratory, also known as Curiosity, in November of
2011. The car-sized vehicle is supposed to land on
Mars in August 2012.
This computer model shows what scientists expect
will happen when the spacecraft carrying Curiosity
reaches the red planet.
Curiosity is supposed to land at the foot of a
mountain within a deep, 150-kilometer-wide hole
called Gale Crater. Deputy project scientist Ashwin
Vasavada tells about Curiosity.
ASHWIN VASAVADA: "This is a Mars scientist's dream
machine. We're so excited to have this rover going
to Mars this year. It's going to be the virtual
presence for over 200 scientists around the world to
explore Mars and Gale Crater that we'll talk about.
This rover is not only the most technically capable
rover ever sent to another planet, but it's actually
the most capable scientific explorer we've ever sent
out."
Curiosity is much larger than earlier rovers. It can
travel up to about 200 meters a day over the Martian
surface. It has a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor
that will provide plenty of power for Curiosity's
many activities. The vehicle also has 17 cameras,
and a laser that can examine the chemical make-up of
rocks.
ASHWIN VASAVADA: "What really dominates the design
of this rover is the fact that it has this ability
to sample rocks and soils on Mars for the first
time, and so it has a big six-foot [1.8 meter]
robotic arm. And the rover is partly that big
because it holds two very capable scientific
laboratories inside the rover."
Vasavada says one instrument measures the minerals
in rocks and soil. Another looks for chemicals and
any organic material that might be present.
The goal of the $2.5 billion experiment is to learn
if Mars ever had environmental conditions that could
have supported microorganisms.
ASHWIN VASAVADA: "This mission is really about
looking for those habitable environments, and not
detecting life itself."
Vasavada says the mountain within Gale Crater will
provide plenty of information about the development
of Mars. That is because each layer of rock contains
new clues.
ASHWIN VASAVADA: "It has some geologic evidence that
water was around. We hope, in fact, to search for
organics with this mission. That's another
requirement for life as we know it."
The nuclear reactor on Curiosity has enough power to
operate on the surface of Mars for about two Earth
years, which is the same as one Martian year. I'm
Faith Lapidus.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
