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| The Atlas 5 launch rocket carrying the Mars rover blasted off from Florida |
Nasa has launched the a lot of able apparatus anytime congenital to acreage on Mars.
The abreast one-tonne rover, tucked axial a capsule, larboard Florida on an Atlas 5 rocket at 10:02 bounded time (15:02 GMT).
Nicknamed Curiosity, the departer will yield eight and a bisected months to cantankerous the all-inclusive ambit to its destination.
If it can acreage cautiously next August, the apprentice will again abrade Martian soils and rocks for any signs that accepted or accomplished environments on the planet could accept accurate microbial life.
The Atlas flight lasted about three-quarters of an hour.
By the time the encapsulated departer was ejected on a aisle to the Red Planet, it was affective at 10km/s (6 afar per second).
Spectacular video taken from the upper-stage of the rocket showed it afloat off into the distance.
"Our aircraft is in accomplished bloom and it's on its way to Mars," said Curiosity activity administrator Peter Theisinger.
Nasa accustomed a aboriginal advice from the canoeing aircraft about 50 account afterwards lift-off through a tracking abject in Canberra, Australia.
Controllers will command a advance alteration manoeuvre in two weeks to clarify the aisle to the Red Planet.
The departer - aswell accepted as the Mars Science class (MSL) - is due to access at the Red Planet on 6 August 2012 (GMT). Then, the harder allotment begins - landing safely.
One chief amplitude bureau official this anniversary alleged Mars the "Death Planet" because so abounding missions accept bootless to get down in one piece.
The Americans, though, accept a acceptable contempo almanac and they accept a new rocket-powered coast arrangement will be able to abode the departer actual absolutely in one of the a lot of agitative locations on the planet.
It is getting aimed at a abysmal close abasement alleged Gale Crater, which contains a axial abundance that rises some 5km (3 miles) aloft the apparent below.
The atrium was called as the landing website because digital adumbration has appropriate that apparent altitude at some point in time may accept been amiable abounding to sustain micro-organisms.
This included pictures of sediments at the abject of the aiguille that were acutely laid down in the attendance of abounding water.
MSL is able with 10 adult instruments to abstraction the rocks, soils and atmosphere in Gale Crater.
The $2.5bn (£1.6bn) mission is adjourned for an antecedent two Earth years of operations, but MSL-Curiosity has a plutonium array and so should accept abounding ability to accumulate rolling for added than a decade.
It is acceptable the mechanisms on the departer will abrasion out continued afore its activity supply.
"The bureau is ecstatic," empiric Doug McCuistion, Nasa's Mars analysis programme director.
"We accept started a new era of exploration, not just technologically but scientifically as well.
"I achievement we accept added plan than the scientists can handle. When we get to the surface, I apprehend them all to be beat with abstracts they've never apparent before. I apprehend the accessible to accept images, vistas that they've never apparent afore either.
"Down in the basal of Gale Crater, those images are traveling to be just stunning. It will be like sitting at the basal of the Grand Canyon, I believe."
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
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