Scheduled to launch on Nov. 26, 2011, 7:02 a.m. PST (10:02 a.m. EST). The launch window is between Nov 25 - Dec. 18, 2011, Mars Science Laboratory is part of
NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life. In other words, its mission is to determine the planet's "habitability."