NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has high expectations for the upcoming
landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars and is certain of great science
results, a lab engineer says.
Torsten Zorn, a robotics engineer with JPL and a four-year veteran on
the Curiosity project team, told Xinhua in an interview that the most
interesting part of the venture could be learning more about the
geological history of Mars.
Zorn said scientists want to find out how Mars’ once wet surface dried
up, how long the process took and what caused the changes. The findings
will be important for scientists to determine whether Mars is habitable
for humans.
To find life, in any form, Zorn said, is a goal of Curiosity. The rover
is equipped with a drill to gather samples underground and send them to a
self-contained lab to determine Mars’ geological conditions and
changes, and if there are any microorganisms present on the planet. The
small lab will also test the soil samples to see if there are signs of
life in the history of Mars.
Curiosity will test the Mars soil only with its own equipment after it
lands on the planet on Sunday (August 5) but future missions will bring
samples back to Earth for more study, Zorn said.
Zorn said many Americans have volunteered for the first one-way trip to
Mars, but he said that if scientists can send human to Mars, they can
also guarantee a return trip.
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