Atlanta was selected as one of the country’s first ‘Mars Cities’ by Explore Mars, a non-profit organization advancing the goal of sending humans to Mars. Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Boston, Columbus, Ohio, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis and Orlando are the eight pilot cities of the ‘Get Curious’ campaign, which aims to educate the public about the landing of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, ‘Curiosity,’ on Sunday, Aug. 5 (1:31 EDT). ‘Curiosity’ is the most advanced Mars rover yet. It will analyze Martian terrain and explore the Red Planet for 23 months.
Made possible in part by space-launch services provider United Launch Alliance, and in conjunction with the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta will host a synthetic red boulder manufactured to resemble a Mars rock. Between July 26 and August 5 the boulder will be located on the Tech Walkway on the Georgia Tech campus. The idea behind the Mars rock display is to motivate people to ‘get curious’ and learn more at www.GetCurious.com.
The Get Curious awareness campaign aims to communicate the benefits of space exploration, support the goal of sending humans to Mars and inspire and educate people about science and space.
“We at Explore Mars look forward to celebrating the Curiosity landing with not only the space community, but also the general public,” said Chris Carberry, Executive Director of Explore Mars. “This mission will give us insights into whether Mars has, or ever had conditions, favorable to microbial life as well as the possibilities of future human exploration on Mars. We hope this and other space exploration initiatives will inspire Americans of all ages to reach further and dream bigger.”
Look for the Mars rock to land at:
Tech Walkway (Between the Student Center and Skiles Building
Georgia Tech Campus
North Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30332
This campaign is also supported by Aerojet, with non-profit partners such as National Geographic, the National Institute of Aerospace, Yuri's Night and the National Space Society.
For more information about Mars Cities, the ‘Get Curious’ campaign or Explore Mars, visit www.GetCurious.com.
About The Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
The Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the oldest – and largest – educational programs of its kind in the country. Degree programs in aerospace engineering are offered at Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate levels. The undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering is accredited by ABET. At the Bachelors level, our graduates will have the necessary understanding of aerodynamics, structures, vehicle dynamics and control, propulsion, and interdisciplinary design to be well prepared for careers in aerospace and related engineering fields.
About Explore Mars
Explore Mars is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that was created to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars within the next two decades. To further that goal, Explore Mars conducts programs and technical challenges to stimulate the development and/or improvement of technologies that will make human Mars missions more efficient and feasible. In addition, to embed the idea of Mars as a habitable planet, Explore Mars challenges educators to use Mars in the classroom as a tool to teach standard STEM curricula. You can contact us using our website www.exploremars.org or at the email address info@ExploreMars.org. You can follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/exploremars or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/exploremarsdotorg.
About United Launch Alliance
Formed in December 2006, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a 50-50 joint venture owned by Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. ULA brings together two of the launch industry’s most experienced and successful teams – Atlas and Delta – to provide reliable, cost-efficient space launch services for the U.S. government. U.S. government launch customers include the Department of Defense, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and other organizations.
For more information on ULA, visit the ULA Web site at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch and twitter.com/ulalaunch.
