Longueuil, Quebec, July 31, 2012 – NASA's rover Curiosity is fast approaching the Red Planet with a scientific instrument provided by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on board. The landing is scheduled for August 6 at 1:31 a.m. Eastern (August 5, 10:31 p.m. PDT).
Curiosity will study whether the Gale Crater area of Mars has evidence of past and present habitable environments. The Canadian instrument will enable the rover to determine the chemical composition of the rocks and soil on Mars.
Media are invited to view Curiosity's landing at the CSA with commentary from host Stéphane Desjardins, Director of Space Exploration Projects. The event will be webcasted live on the Canadian Space Agency's website: www.asc-csa.gc.ca. The event will also be attended by 20 tweeters from Canada and the United States who will be micro-blogging from the CSA (hashtag: #CSATweetup).
Time:
1:00 a.m. EDT
(10:00 p.m. PDT)
What:
Curiosity landing (live footage of the JPL control room on NASA TV)
Who:
Stéphane Desjardins, Director, Space Exploration Projects
Where:
Canadian Space Agency
6767 Route de l'Aéroport
Longueuil, Quebec
The CSA's Dr Victoria Hipkin, Senior Program Scientist, Planetary Exploration, and Dr Richard Léveillé, Planetary Scientist, will be at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab for the landing. They recorded the following videos of their impressions prior to departure:
Dr Hipkin: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOEmmY7H1dg External link, Opens in a new window
Dr Léveillé: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2YmxFXgjhY External link, Opens in a new window
For a preview of the landing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISmWAyQxqqs External link, Opens in a new window
For more information on the mission: www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/mars/apxs.asp
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Canadian Space Agency
Media Relations Office
Telephone: 450-926-4370
E-mail: media@asc-csa.gc.ca
Website: www.asc-csa.gc.ca
