Curiosity facing the environmental conditions that have to live on Mars. atmsoférica A very low pressure, freezing temperatures and a relatively faint sunlight ... this is the simplest definition of environmental conditions to which any rover to tread the dusty plains of Mars faces. They are by no means the most extreme of the solar system, and in fact are probably more similar to The land we can find, but not cease to be a challenge to overcome, especially because they are still complex and technological ingenuity, as result, relatively delicate.
The best way to address this challenge is to "imitate" the conditions they will encounter these browsers on each of their destinations, thus, are practically completed once, test them and see how they respond, either positively, which represents a decisive step towards its launch, or negative, in which case it is up to engineers to try to correct the situation. Therefore the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has called Simulation Chamber Space (space-simulation chamber ), which as its name suggests is designed precisely for this: Submit a stellar future travelers to a severe test of endurance.
And this month, who is dealing with this camera is the future rover Curiosity, to be split this year by Mars . He lives there now a preview of what awaits you, surrounded by the most similar to the Martian environment can be achieved, generated after removing much of the air, lowering the temperature by liquid hydrogen to 130 degrees Celsius (-143 degrees Celsius) and light up the room with the equivalent in the light of sunrise on Mars. Harsh even for the average of the red planet, but will serve to ensure that you are prepared for any situation.
this unit will not only check ... later, when Curiosity this assembly to other components to accompany him on the trip (such as cruise and landing phases) will return the camera to address new simulations. Once completed and if the results are correct, will be transferred to Kennedy Space Center , from where to the Red Planet later this year. A trip to a totally alien to Earth, but that Thanks to these tests and simulations, it is not entirely new to this future browser.
Curiosity in the space simulation chamber, in a photograph of the March 8, she still had not closed tightly for starting the tests. Here is living in a stay on Mars without leaving Earth, which will verify that you are ready for their adventure on the Red Planet. Next Mars Rover Gets a Taste of Mars Test Conditions
