Artist’s impression of MSL on its way to Mars. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
By Amanda Doyle
08 January 2012
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), which is currently en route to the red planet, will perform a trajectory manoeuvre at 23:00 UT on 11 January 2012. The slight course change will ensure a precise landing at the Gale Crater on 6 August and changes the trajectory of the spacecraft by 5.5 metres per second. MSL, also called Curiosity, has already travelled 117 million kilometres of its 567 kilometre journey to Mars.