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United Launch AllianceAtlas V 541Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
MSL (Curiosity)
Launched
November 26, 2011 · 15:02 UTC
Summary
MSL (Curiosity) launched on an United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on November 26, 2011 at 15:02 UTC. It was United Launch Alliance's 57th launch, 11th this year and humanity's 5,179th orbital launch attempt. It was the 1st Atlas V 541 flight. The payload was bound for Mars Orbit (Mars). Curiosity, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 168 × 326 km orbit inclined 28.9°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Robotic Exploration · Mars Orbit (Mars)for NASA
- Milestone
- 1st Atlas V 541 flightUnited Launch Alliance's 57th launch11th this yearhumanity's 5,179th orbital launch attempt73rd orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Curiosity · NORAD 37936 · 2011-070 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- MSL
- Object ID
- 2011-070A
- Epoch
- 2011-11-26 15:12:29 UTC
- Mean motion
- 16.12596573 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.01197
- Inclination
- 28.92°
- Ascending node
- 110.9743°
- Arg. of perigee
- 209.98°
- Mean anomaly
- 280.83°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: Mars. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage
- Curiosity · NORAD 37936 · left Earth orbit November 27, 2011
Centaur AV-028 · left Earth orbit November 27, 2011
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
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.
News
NASA’s Curiosity Looks Back After Reaching Elevation MilestoneDescription NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view looking back at the floor of Gale Crater, with the crater’s rim visible in the distance, on Sept. 5, 2026, the 5,006th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Just nine days prior, on Aug. 26 (Sol 4,996), Curiosity set a mission milestone by reaching 1 kilometer […]
NASA’s Curiosity Captures Dawn Breaking on Wind-Carved CliffsDescription NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this panorama of sunrise illuminating distant, wind-carved features called yardangs on Aug. 11, 2026, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed. Figure A is a crop zooming in on the distant yardangs. Since 2014, Curiosity […]
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Catches Stunning Martian DawnA newly released panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission’s scientists have long been waiting to see up close. The scene was snapped at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, showing striking blue hues in the foreground as bright morning light illuminates […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5029-5035: Back in the LabWritten by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 1, 2026 The majority of Curiosity plans involve mosaics from Mastcam and ChemCam, chemistry analyses from ChemCam and APXS, images from MAHLI and MARDI, and systematic measurements from REMS, RAD, and DAN. It is only when we stop to drill that we […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5022-5028: Cashing in at Cache CreekWritten by Lucy Thompson, Senior Research Scientist, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 Before we landed, the area of Gale crater that we planned to explore was divided up into rectangular parcels with designated names. The names were chosen after small towns associated with significant geological features. Our selected […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5016–5021: Fantastic Minerals and How To Detect ThemWritten by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 18, 2026 Curiosity surprised us at the beginning of the week with a change in rock texture — instead of the finely layered bedrock blocks we’ve been seeing in our recent sulfate unit workspaces, suddenly we were looking […]
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5010-5015: Checking out the BandsCatherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University New Brunswick, NB, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 This week we had two planning days (Tuesday and Friday), as Monday was Labor Day in North America, where many of the Curiosity team are based. Labor Day (the first Monday in September) marks […]
Curiosity Postcard Celebrates Rover’s 5,000th Day on MarsDescription While parked at a sand ridge nicknamed “Chocolatal,” NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas at two times of day. The first was taken on Aug. 30, 2026, at 9:56 a.m. local Mars time; the second was taken on Sep. 2, 2026, at 5:39 p.m. local Mars time. Those […]
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
51st launch from Space Launch Complex 41, 4th this year · 683rd from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Local pad time at liftoff: Nov 26, 10:02 AM EST, in daylight
125 launches from this pad · 1,131 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
112 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did MSL (Curiosity) launch?
MSL (Curiosity) launched on November 26, 2011 at 15:02 UTC.
Where can I watch MSL (Curiosity)?
Coverage: Mars Science Laboratory Lifts Off for Red Planet. Watch the replay
What rocket launched MSL (Curiosity)?
Atlas V 541, flown by United Launch Alliance. Atlas V 541 spec sheet
Where did MSL (Curiosity) launch from?
Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA. Liftoff was Nov 26, 10:02 AM EST local time at the pad.
What orbit did MSL (Curiosity) reach?
Curiosity, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 168 × 326 km orbit inclined 28.9°.
How many satellites did MSL (Curiosity) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is MSL (Curiosity) part of?
NASA Large Strategic Science Missions. About NASA Large Strategic Science Missions