APOD 2.5

This weeks picture includes the newly discovered planet, Kepler 22b! This plant was recently discovered 600 light years away near the constellation Cygnus. It has been found to be orbiting a smaller and cooler star and is actually orbiting in a habitable zone. Overall, the planet itself is twice as large as earth and may never get above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If this planet does hold liquid water than there is a chance for life to be found! In order for possible contact to be made we would first have to know if something intelligent is actually alive there so we are now setting up sites to keep records of everything about Kepler 22b.

APOD 2.4

This week's picture features the launching of the Curiosity Rover! This rover, five times larger than the opportunity rover, is a new breed of rovers. I say this because this rover has two fully automated labs, a drill designed to work on mars and nuclear reactor for powering this mighty machine. It has the "standard" head with many cameras and other devices to determine where it is and where it would like to go. Also, this Rover has a new system of deployment on the surface of Mars that will allow it to jet pack into a spot instead of just letting it bounce along the surface of the planet. The mission of the rover is to explore the Gale crater, determine if life was ever on mars, and if we have a chance of settling mars in the near future.