14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, announce another successful course correction maneuver for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity.
The 1-ton robot is scheduled to land on the surface of the Red Planet – on the slopes of Mount Sharp, inside Gale Crater – on August 6 GMT (August 5 PDT). The course maneuvers are necessary because the mission was launched on a course that was not headed for Mars.
Over the past 8 months, JPL mission controllers have carried out a number of engine burns, meant to adjust Curiosity's path. One such maneuver was conducted in order to narrow down the robot's landing ellipse, therefore maximizing the time the rover would perform doing actual science.
The latest course correction involved firing the engines for around 7 seconds. The bursts were initiated at 1 am EDT (0500 GMT), yesterday, July 29, Universe Today reports.