{
  "id": "nasa-curiosity-rover",
  "title": "Curiosity",
  "maker": "NASA / JPL",
  "maker_type": "Space agency",
  "kind": "mission",
  "category": "rovers",
  "page": "https://spacemushroom.com/space-products/nasa-curiosity-rover/",
  "website": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/",
  "summary": "NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, a small-SUV-sized rover with machined aluminium wheels, titanium tubes and suspension arms, a PICA heat shield and an MMRTG power source.",
  "application": "Curiosity has explored Gale Crater on Mars since 2012 to assess whether the area could have supported microbial life. It carries ten science instruments, a drill and a robotic arm. Its machined aluminium wheels, titanium suspension, ablative heat shield and nuclear power source were the template for Perseverance.",
  "story": {
    "headline": "Curiosity is a small-SUV-sized NASA rover that has been exploring Mars since 2012.",
    "intro": [
      "Curiosity is the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, built by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It landed in Gale Crater on 6 August 2012 and has explored the crater since, to assess whether the area could have supported microbial life. It carries ten science instruments, a drill and a robotic arm.",
      "Its six wheels are milled out of solid aluminium, and its suspension tubes and arms are titanium. An ablative heat shield of PICA tiles, which wear away as they heat, protected it on entry. Its power comes from a nuclear source called an MMRTG, and Curiosity was the first NASA mission to carry one."
    ],
    "built": [
      {
        "title": "Wheels and suspension",
        "text": "Each wheel is milled out of solid aluminium. The shell is machined down to about 30 thousandths of an inch thick. The tubes and the suspension arms that come down to the wheels are all titanium.",
        "parts": [
          "Wheel (6)",
          "Wheel shell thickness",
          "Suspension tubes and arms to wheels"
        ]
      },
      {
        "title": "Heat shield",
        "text": "The entry heat shield was made of tiles of PICA, short for phenolic impregnated carbon ablator. The gaps between the tiles were filled with RTV, a rubbery sealant.",
        "parts": [
          "Heat shield tiles"
        ]
      },
      {
        "title": "Power source",
        "text": "The MMRTG turns the heat of 4.8 kg of plutonium dioxide fuel into electricity using 768 thermocouples of lead telluride and TAGS. Iridium cladding and graphite sleeves protect the fuel, and a carbon-fibre aeroshell box surrounds each of eight heat-source modules.",
        "parts": [
          "MMRTG heat source fuel",
          "MMRTG thermoelectric couples (768)",
          "GPHS fuel cladding",
          "GPHS graphite sleeves",
          "GPHS aeroshell box"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "materials": [
      {
        "name": "Aluminium",
        "mid": "aluminium",
        "where": "The wheels, each milled out of solid aluminium. The alloy is not stated."
      },
      {
        "name": "Titanium",
        "mid": "titanium",
        "where": "The suspension tubes and the arms that come down to the wheels."
      },
      {
        "name": "PICA",
        "mid": "pica",
        "where": "The ablator tiles of the entry heat shield."
      },
      {
        "name": "Plutonium dioxide",
        "mid": "plutonium-dioxide-fuel",
        "where": "The ceramic fuel in the power source, 4.8 kg in total."
      },
      {
        "name": "Lead telluride and TAGS",
        "mid": "pbte-tags-thermoelectric",
        "where": "The 768 thermocouples that turn the fuel's heat into electricity."
      },
      {
        "name": "Iridium",
        "mid": "iridium",
        "where": "The metal cladding around the plutonium fuel."
      }
    ],
    "connections": "NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory built Curiosity as the rover of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, launched on 26 November 2011. It was the first NASA mission to carry an MMRTG. Its machined aluminium wheels, titanium suspension, ablative heat shield and nuclear power source were the template for the Perseverance rover.",
    "unknown": "Nothing is stated about the materials of the mast, robotic arm, chassis, batteries, electronics and instruments. The aluminium alloy of the wheels is not named, and nor is the material of the heat shield's own structure.",
    "facts": [
      {
        "label": "Mass",
        "value": "899 kg on Earth (337 kg weight at Mars gravity)"
      },
      {
        "label": "Size",
        "value": "About 10 ft long, 9 ft wide, 7 ft tall"
      },
      {
        "label": "Launch",
        "value": "26 November 2011"
      },
      {
        "label": "Landing",
        "value": "6 August 2012, Gale Crater"
      },
      {
        "label": "Power",
        "value": "MMRTG about 110 W at launch"
      }
    ]
  },
  "specifications": [
    {
      "label": "Mass",
      "value": "899 kg on Earth (337 kg weight at Mars gravity)",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/",
      "quote": "1,982 lbs (899 kg) in Earth gravity"
    },
    {
      "label": "Size",
      "value": "About 10 ft long, 9 ft wide, 7 ft tall",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/",
      "quote": "10 feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall"
    },
    {
      "label": "Launch",
      "value": "26 November 2011",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/",
      "quote": "Nov. 26, 2011"
    },
    {
      "label": "Landing",
      "value": "6 August 2012, Gale Crater",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
      "quote": "landed successfully on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012"
    },
    {
      "label": "Wheel size",
      "value": "About 50 cm diameter, 40 cm wide",
      "source_url": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/breaks-observed-in-rover-wheel-treads/",
      "quote": "about 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter",
      "quote_check": "not matched on the source page"
    },
    {
      "label": "Power",
      "value": "MMRTG about 110 W at launch",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
      "quote": "An MMRTG generates about 110 watts of electrical power at launch"
    },
    {
      "label": "Entry heat shield",
      "value": "4.5 m diameter, 70-degree spherecone",
      "source_url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170011049",
      "quote": "The entry vehicle was a 70-degree 4.5-m diameter spherecone",
      "quote_check": "not matched on the source page"
    }
  ],
  "features": [
    {
      "text": "First NASA mission to carry an MMRTG",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
      "quote": "The first NASA mission to carry an MMRTG was the Curiosity Mars rover"
    },
    {
      "text": "Carries ten science instruments",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/",
      "quote": "Curiosity's large size allows it to carry an advanced kit of 10 science instruments"
    },
    {
      "text": "Wheels have 19 zigzag grousers",
      "source_url": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/breaks-observed-in-rover-wheel-treads/",
      "quote": "The grousers are 19 zigzag-shaped treads",
      "quote_check": "not matched on the source page"
    }
  ],
  "parts": [
    {
      "assembly": "Mobility (wheels and suspension)",
      "parts": [
        {
          "part": "Wheel (6)",
          "material": "aluminium (milled from solid; alloy not stated)",
          "form": "machined shell with 19 grousers",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": "Wheel 50 cm diameter, 40 cm wide",
          "quote": "milled out of solid aluminum",
          "source_url": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/breaks-observed-in-rover-wheel-treads/",
          "profile": "aluminium",
          "mid": "aluminium"
        },
        {
          "part": "Wheel shell thickness",
          "material": "aluminium",
          "form": "machined shell",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "a piece of machined aluminum that's about 30-thousandths of an inch thick",
          "source_url": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/building-curiosity-rover-rocks-rocker-bogie/",
          "profile": "aluminium",
          "mid": "aluminium"
        },
        {
          "part": "Suspension tubes and arms to wheels",
          "material": "titanium",
          "form": "tubes and arms",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "The tubes, the suspension arms coming down to the wheels; those are all titanium.",
          "source_url": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/building-curiosity-rover-rocks-rocker-bogie/",
          "profile": "titanium",
          "mid": "titanium"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "assembly": "Entry, descent and landing: heat shield",
      "parts": [
        {
          "part": "Heat shield tiles",
          "material": "PICA (phenolic impregnated carbon ablator)",
          "form": "tiles",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "MSL heatshield was made of PICA tiles with RTV gap fillers",
          "source_url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170011049",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "pica"
        },
        {
          "part": "Backshell ablator",
          "material": "SLA-561V",
          "form": "1.27 cm nominal (Mars 2020 value stated as same as MSL)",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "The nominal uniform thickness of SLA-561V for Mars 2020 was 1.27 cm (0.5 inch), the same as it was for MSL.",
          "source_url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20220006688",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "sla-561v"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "assembly": "Power: MMRTG",
      "parts": [
        {
          "part": "MMRTG heat source fuel",
          "material": "plutonium dioxide (Pu-238)",
          "form": "ceramic fuel",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "contains a total of 10.6 pounds (4.8 kilograms) of plutonium dioxide fuel",
          "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "plutonium-dioxide-fuel"
        },
        {
          "part": "MMRTG thermoelectric couples (768)",
          "material": "lead telluride / TAGS (tellurium-antimony-germanium-silver)",
          "form": "768 thermocouples",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "Lead telluride (PbTe)//Germanium telluride/Silver Antimony telluride (TAGS)",
          "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "pbte-tags-thermoelectric"
        },
        {
          "part": "GPHS fuel cladding",
          "material": "iridium metal",
          "form": "clad",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "iridium metal cladding, graphite sleeves that protect the fuel clads",
          "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "iridium"
        },
        {
          "part": "GPHS graphite sleeves",
          "material": "graphite",
          "form": "sleeve",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "graphite sleeves that protect the fuel clads",
          "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "graphite"
        },
        {
          "part": "GPHS aeroshell box",
          "material": "carbon-fibre material (carbon-bonded carbon fibre per figure labels)",
          "form": "aeroshell box around each of eight GPHS modules",
          "finish": null,
          "standard": null,
          "hardware_ref": null,
          "quote": "the rugged carbon-fiber material that forms the aeroshell",
          "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mmrtg-factsheet-updated-5-18-20-1.pdf",
          "profile": null,
          "mid": "carbon-bonded-carbon-fibre"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "materials": [
    {
      "id": "aluminium",
      "name": "aluminium",
      "material_page": "https://spacemushroom.com/profiles/aluminium/"
    },
    {
      "id": "titanium",
      "name": "titanium",
      "material_page": "https://spacemushroom.com/profiles/titanium/"
    },
    {
      "id": "pica",
      "name": "PICA (phenolic impregnated carbon ablator)",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "sla-561v",
      "name": "SLA-561V",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "plutonium-dioxide-fuel",
      "name": "plutonium dioxide (Pu-238)",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pbte-tags-thermoelectric",
      "name": "lead telluride / TAGS (tellurium-antimony-germanium-silver)",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "iridium",
      "name": "iridium metal",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "graphite",
      "name": "graphite",
      "material_page": null
    },
    {
      "id": "carbon-bonded-carbon-fibre",
      "name": "carbon-fibre material (carbon-bonded carbon fibre per figure labels)",
      "material_page": null
    }
  ],
  "standards": [],
  "relations": [],
  "not_published": "MSL-specific structure of heat shield and backshell, mast, arm, chassis, batteries, instruments and electronics not sourced. The SLA-561V and RTV-560 rows rely on NASA statements about the Mars 2020 design being the same as MSL.",
  "depth": "partial",
  "photos": [
    {
      "file": "products/context/nasa-curiosity-rover-1.jpg",
      "alt": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic near Murray Buttes on Mars, rover on cracked bedrock under a dusty sky",
      "long": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic near Murray Buttes on Mars, rover on cracked bedrock under a dusty sky",
      "kind": "product",
      "credit": "semeion.photo, processing of NASA/JPL-Caltech Curiosity images (via Wikimedia Commons)",
      "license": "Public domain",
      "page_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Curiosity_rover_selfie_at_Murray_Buttes_(54234893719).jpg"
    },
    {
      "file": "products/context/nasa-curiosity-rover-2.jpg",
      "alt": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic at Mont Mercou on Mars, rover in front of layered rock outcrop under a hazy sky",
      "long": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic at Mont Mercou on Mars, rover in front of layered rock outcrop under a hazy sky",
      "kind": "product",
      "credit": "semeion.photo, processing of NASA/JPL-Caltech Curiosity images (via Wikimedia Commons)",
      "license": "Public domain",
      "page_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Curiosity_rover_selfie_at_Mont_Mercou_Sol_3070_(53677088587).jpg"
    },
    {
      "file": "products/context/nasa-curiosity-rover-3.jpg",
      "alt": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic at Namib Dune on Mars, rover beside a dark sand dune",
      "long": "Curiosity rover selfie mosaic at Namib Dune on Mars, rover beside a dark sand dune",
      "kind": "product",
      "credit": "semeion.photo, processing of NASA/JPL-Caltech Curiosity images (via Wikimedia Commons)",
      "license": "Public domain",
      "page_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Curiosity_rover_selfie_at_Namib_Dune_Sol_1128_(53678107023).jpg"
    }
  ],
  "context": {
    "size": [],
    "mass": [],
    "orbit": [
      "Deep space"
    ]
  },
  "licence": "Product data CC BY 4.0, cite Space Mushroom. Photos keep their own licences, given per photo.",
  "mcp": "https://spacemushroom.com/mcp"
}