NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity gains DAN apparatus, new lust for water

“You are able to think about DAN as a reconnaissance instrument.” That’s a quote from Igor Mitrofanov of the gap Research Institute, Russia, who’s being deemed the “principal investigator” of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons. Shortened to DAN for obvious reasons, this guy will soon be affixed to NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity , with one primary purpose: to “check for any water that could be bound into shallow underground minerals along the rover’s path.” In total, ten instruments on Curiosity could be devoted to investigating whether the realm selected for the mission has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for all times and favorable for preserving evidence about life. We’re told that while in active mode, it’s sensitive enough to detect water content as little as one-tenth of 1 percent inside the ground beneath the rover, but there’s still no indication of when it’ll actually prove that Mars truly is the subsequent major relocation hotspot. Something tells us Richard Branson shall be ready , regardless.

Source

This post is tagged: environmental conditions, principal investigator, reconnaissance, richard branson, space research institute