This news conference about the NASA Mars rover Curiosity was held in San Francisco at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
Rumors and speculation that there are major new findings from the mission at this early stage are incorrect. The news conference is an update about first use of the rover's full array of analytical instruments to investigate a drift of sandy soil. One class of substances Curiosity is checking for is organic compounds -- carbon-containing chemicals that can be ingredients for life. At this point in the mission, the instruments on the rover have not detected any definitive evidence of Martian organics.
The Mars Science Laboratory Project and its Curiosity rover are less than four months into a two-year prime mission to investigate whether conditions in Mars' Gale Crater may have been favorable for microbial life. Curiosity is exceeding all expectations for a new mission with all of the instruments and measurement systems performing well. This is spectacular for such a complex system, and one that is operated so far away on Mars by people here on planet Earth. The mission already has found an ancient riverbed on the Red Planet, and there is every expectation for remarkable discoveries still to come.
Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the landing of Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rovers.
We will delve into the stories of these incredible robots, with a look at how the exploration of Mars and the understanding of ourselves has changed because of the twin rovers.
Speakers:
John Callas, former Mars Exploration Rovers project manager
Abigail Fraeman, former Mars Exploration Rovers deputy project scientist
Host:
Nikki Wyrick, office of communications and education, NASA JPL
