DEPARTMENT COLLOQUIUM | Exploring Mars with the Curiosity Rover

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover was developed to assess the habitability of Mars. Since liquid water is a basic ingredient for life as we know it, in order to understand the habitability of other planets, we must first understand the behavior of water on them. In this presentation, the current evidence for liquid saline water on Mars will be discussed briefly. Then, the Curiosity Rover, its instruments, and its landing site on Gale Crater will be described. The presentation will conclude with an overview of Curiosity's initial findings on Gale Crater.