The main mission of this rover is to determine if Mars could ever support life.The mission will also help prepare for human exploration. The Mars Science Laboratory has 8 main scientific objectives for Curiosity; Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds, Investigate the chemical building blocks of life, Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes, Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the Martian surface, Interpret the processes that have formed rocks and soils, assess long-timescale martian atmospheric evolution processes,determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide, and characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation. It was launched on November 26, 2011. It landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. Its original 2 year mission was extended indefinitely. This mission is a bit pricier than Juno, Curiosity cost $2.5 billion. That is no small change but you have to remember that it was spread out over a period of eight years. The budget covered a variety of expenses, including the rocket used to launch the spacecraft and salaries for a team of highly skilled engineers, programmers, managers, scientists and independent contractors. I believe that this was money well spent. Some of the most important technology advancements have been the result of space …show more content…
This may have the highest price tag but it also has so much potential for knowledge. The International Space Station is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit. The International Space Station was intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory. It provides a platform to conduct scientific research in space. It makes individual experiments easier by eliminating the need for separate rocket launches and research staff.The critical systems are the atmosphere control system, the water supply system, the food supply facilities, the sanitation and hygiene equipment, and fire detection and suppression equipment. The International Space Station is arguably the most expensive single item ever constructed. It cost $150 billion. This was a major cost for a major advancement in technology. Astronauts can literally live in space for long periods of time. This opens a whole new door to space exploration. It may be expensive but the knowledge gained is