What sets Curiosity apart from other Mars Rovers?

Watch this and other space videos at SpaceRip.com The Mars Science Lab was launched November 26, 2011, and is scheduled to land on Mars at Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The rover Curiosity, after completing a more precise landing than ever attempted previously, is intended to help assess Mars' habitability for future human missions. Its primary mission objective is to determine whether Mars is or has ever been an environment able to support life. Curiosity is five times as large as either of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit or Opportunity and carries more than ten times the mass of scientific instruments present on the older vehicles. The rover is expected to operate for at least 686 days as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. Here are some of the specs that help set Curiosity apart from the other rovers The rover Curiosity is 3 meters in length, and weighs 900 kg, including 80 kg worth of scientific instruments. It is approximately the size of a Mini Cooper automobile. Once on the surface, Curiosity will be able to roll over obstacles approaching 75 cm high. Maximum terrain-traverse speed is estimated to be 90 meters per hour by automatic navigation, however, with average speeds likely to be about 30 meter per hour depending on power levels, difficulty of the terrain, slippage, and visibility. It is expected to traverse a minimum of 12 miles in its two-year mission. Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, as used by ...