Awesome New Collaborative Mission to Mars

The successor to the Spirit and Opportunity missions to Mars will be the MARS SCIENCE LABORITORY (MSL). It will prove to be the most capable and internationally diverse mission to Mars yet. The projected 2009 launch date for the MSL will be sending technology contributed by the Russian Federal Space Agency, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and the Canadian Space Agency along with American technology to the red planet. The MSL will be twice as long as the rovers and three times as heavy. A major addition to MSL’s scientific capabilities is the laser system which vaporizes the top layers of Martian rock and allows for the study of the geologic composition and history of Mars. Also the mission will be powered by a new technology never previously employed on Mars. The MSL will use radioactive isotope power from decaying plutonium atoms which will free the mission from dependence on the sun for solar power.