Science

Curiosity's Secrets: The Hidden Features of NASA's Mars Rover

NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, is an awesome scientific machine. By now, you probably know all about its rock-blasting laser and its 17 amazing cameras. But here and there, Curiosity is hiding a few secrets.
  • Pyrotechnic Rover
  • Descent Stage Unibody
  • Heavy Hydrazine Lines
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pyrotechnic-rover
NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, is an awesome scientific machine. By now, you probably know all about its rock-blasting laser and its 17 amazing cameras. More Curiosity CoverageCuriosity Rover’s Self-Portraits Transport You to MarsHumans on Mars: The Craziest, Weirdest, and Most Plausible Plans in HistoryWhat NASA's Next Mars Rover Will DiscoverBut here and there, Curiosity is hiding a few secrets. Scattered around its body are little mostly unknown bits and pieces. You might have noticed them in images and said, like we did, “Huh, I wonder what that is.” Well, here we take a very close-up and detailed look at the rover to answer some of those questions. Some of these features helped Curiosity pull off a flawless landing on the Martian soil. Other bits are there to assist in the day-to-day science collecting that will allow the rover to figure out the history of water on Mars and whether the planet was ever capable of sustaining life. Above:

Pyrotechnic Rover

Curiosity’s engineers seem to love pyrotechnics even more than Burning Man enthusiasts do. During the spacecraft’s harrowing entry, descent, and landing sequence, it fired off 76 blasts to separate the pieces of the plummeting probe. Some of the pyrotechnics (which are essentially very controlled fireworks) had the energy of a box of matches while others contained the explosive force of a dynamite stick. Just before Curiosity entered the Martian atmosphere it fired 10 pyrotechnics within five milliseconds – Pow! Pow! Pow! — some of which released miniature guillotines to cut connecting cables while the rest actually separated the entry capsule and the cruise stage. Other blasts released the spacecraft’s tungsten ballast weights (which were later spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite). The biggest boom was responsible for unfurling the rover’s supersonic parachute, the largest ever used on an interplanetary mission. Even on the ground, the rover still had a few more bangs to go. Engineers needing to remove the cameras’ dust-blocking lens caps turned to -- what else? -- small pyrotechnic devices. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech