John P. Grotzinger: Mars Science Laboratory: The Search for Habitable Environments

The Mars Science Laboratory Mission was designed to explore the habitability of Mars. This includes both modern environments, as well as ancient environments represented by the Gale crater landing site. The Curiosity rover has a designed lifetime of approximately two Earth years and drive capability of at least 20 km. Gale Crater's regional context and strong evidence for a progression through multiple potentially habitable environments, represented by a stratigraphic record of extraordinary extent, insure preservation of a rich record of the environmental history of early Mars. Initial results will be discussed.

John P. Grotzinger is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology at Caltech.

Learn More: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

Presented By: Caltech Committee on Institute Programs