(AP Photo/Terry Renna)
The rover "Curiosity," the largest ever sent to Mars, took off on its 354 million-mile journey on Saturday, which will last over a period of approximately 8 1/2 months, if all goes well.
Specs of Curiosity are 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. It weighs in at about 1 ton, and is nuclear-powered.
Curiosity's mission is to search out whether or not the planet neighbor may be able to support life, or if microbial life existed at one time in the past.
Measurements planned include the amount of radiation on the planet, as well as climate readings such as humidity, wind and temperature. That will come from a weather station embedded in the rover.
According to NASA, assuming everything goes close to as planned, the rover will travel at least 12 miles on the surface of the planet. It will be fueled by 10.6 pounds of radioactive plutonium.
To drill into the red rock on the planet's surface, there is a 7-foot arm which includes a jackhammer at the end of the drill.
The projected date of arrival for Curiosity on Mars is sometime in August 2012.
Two other missions are currently under way by NASA, with Grail heading for the moon of Earth, and the Juno probe on its way to Jupiter.
While it's interesting to see this mission, it shouldn't be underwritten by the government, as it's not part of God's purpose. Rather it should be financed by private parties, which will no doubt be the future of space exploration.
As for life on other planets, I don't see that as being a reality, in the sense of intelligent life. But I do see the potential of microbial life, as Jesus Christ, who has created all things, is life Himself, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to see building blocks of life on planets other than Earth.
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