Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory November 27, 2013, an overview (titled, "The World of Mars") of current and proposed Mars exploration by John Grotzinger, chief scientist of the "Curiosity" rover mission, was published in the New York Times. On December 9, 2013, NASA reported that the planet Mars had a large freshwater lake (which could have been a hospitable environment for microbial life) based on evidence from the "Curiosity" rover studying Aeolis Palus near Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. On December 9, 2013, NASA researchers described, in a series of six articles in the journal Science, many new discoveries from the "Curiosity" rover. Possible organics
Mars Exploration Rover sequence on airbag inflation and backshell RAD rocket firing. Airbags used in the Mars Exploration Rover mission are the same type that Mars Pathfinder used in 1997. They had to be strong enough to cushion the spacecraft if it landed on rocks or rough terrain and allow it to bounce across Mars' surface at highway speeds (about 100 km/h) after landing. The airbags had to be inflated seconds before touchdown and deflated once safely on the ground. The airbags were made of Vectran, like those on Pathfinder. Vectran has almost twice the strength of other synthetic materials, such as Kevlar,