Engineers at NASA are busy perfecting the mega-rover to Mars before they send it to Florida. The mega-rover is expected to be launched later this year.
A small group of NASA technicians are working 24/7 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to assemble the craft. They are also testing the science instruments of the said mega-rover. This was supposed to be ready by 2009, but construction problems pushed the launch date by two years.
NASA already said that the craft is scheduled to launch late November of this year. They are doing everything to check the systems of the aircraft. Moreover, they want to make sure that any possible contamination here does not accidentally reach Mars.
Curiosity – the name of the $2.5 billion aircraft – will not leave with an HD 3D camera as originally planned. James Cameron helped build the camera but due to time restrictions, they will not have the chance to check the zoom capabilities before November.
Curiosity will be probing soil and rocks to establish if Mars have the appropriate environment to support life. The craft will carry high-end tools and one of which can blow-up big rocks from afar.
Completion of the aircraft was faced with a lot of problems. Engineers had to change the heat shield and do something about the parachute as they encountered a problem with it. NASA also experienced delays in delivery from subcontractors, causing a delay on the initial time table.
The launch window, which will last for three weeks, will open on November 25th; after they begin shipping parts of the spacecraft to Cape Canaveral.
