Atlas V 541 | MSL (Curiosity)
Launch information
Favourite EmbedMission description
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, featuring the renowned Curiosity rover, was designed to assess the planet's past and present habitability. Equipped with an array of advanced scientific instruments, including a drill and a sample analysis unit, Curiosity explored the Gale Crater, a site believed to contain evidence of ancient Martian environments. It delivered groundbreaking discoveries, including the detection of organic molecules and the confirmation of an ancient, potentially habitable lake bed.
Launch status
Launch status information for space mission ‘Atlas V 541 | MSL (Curiosity)’.
Success
Status: Launch Successful
Class: normal
Launch T0: Nov. 26, 2011, 3:02 p.m.
Timezone: America/New_York
Launch authority
Details about the the rocket, its target orbit and the launch pad location.
Mission |
MSL (Curiosity) (Mars) |
|---|---|
Launcher |
United Launch Alliance |
Rocket |
Atlas V 541 |
Location |
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA |
Pad |
Space Launch Complex 41 |
Type |
Robotic Exploration |
Orbit |
Mars Orbit (Mars) |
Satellites on-board
Satellites on-board the space mission ‘Atlas V 541 | MSL (Curiosity)’ are identified by cross checking database entries for launches and satellites. Results could be inaccurate from time to time.
Launch statistics
Tracking key statistics for space mission ‘Atlas V 541 | MSL (Curiosity)’, classified in stats relative to the specific mission launch year or to all-time values.
Orbital Launch
#5169
To this date
Location Launch
#683
To this date
Pad Launch
#51
To this date
Agency Launch
#57
To this date
Orbital Launch
#73
Year 2011
Location Launch
#7
Year 2011
Pad Launch
#4
Year 2011
Agency Launch
#11
Year 2011
Latest news about the launch
News about the space mission ‘Atlas V 541 | MSL (Curiosity)’ are fetched daily from the best sources online.
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4655-4660: Boxworks With a View
Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Friday Sept. 12, 2025 Curiosity continues to image, analyze, and traverse through a landscape characterized by higher standing ridges...
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4649-4654: Ridges, Hollows and Nodules, Oh My
Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Scientist and APXS Team Member, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 Curiosity is in the midst of the boxwork campaign, trying to decipher why we see such pronounced ridges and ...
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4641-4648: Thinking Outside and Inside the ‘Boxwork’
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer and Rover Planner at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Earth planning week: Aug. 25, 2025. This week Curiosity has been exploring the boxwork unit, investigating both the ridges and the hollows to bett...
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