Mars Science Laboratory

Launch Contingency Planning 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA prepares and rehearses contingency response 

plans for every launch that it conducts. Ensuring 

the safety of launch-site workers and the general 

public in the communities surrounding the launch 

area is the primary consideration in this planning. No 

member of the public has ever been injured during a 

NASA launch.

In late 2011, NASA plans to launch the Mars Science Laboratory on a mission to enable scientists 

to assess whether an intriguing area of Mars has 

preserved evidence of environmental conditions 

favorable for microbial life. Due for liftoff from Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle in late November or December, the Mars Science Laboratory 

will be the largest, most technologically advanced 

rover ever sent to another planet.

The rover, named “Curiosity,” is outfitted with a sophisticated suite of instruments to study the rocks, 

soil, and atmosphere of Mars. The electrical power 

source for the rover and its scientific equipment is 

a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG). Essentially a nuclear battery, the 

MMRTG contains 10.6 pounds (4.8 kilograms) of 

plutonium dioxide as a heat source used to produce 

the rover’s onboard power and to warm its internal 

systems during the frigid Martian night. 

The MMRTG is an evolutionary design of the power 

sources that have been launched safely and successfully by NASA on a wide variety of planetary exploration missions for more than 40 years. As with 

the previous seven generations of such devices, the 

MMRTG is designed, built and tested by the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) to contain its nuclear 

material in a variety of potential accident scenarios 

using several layers of protective materials. In addition, the plutonium dioxide fuel is manufactured in a 

ceramic form, which is insoluble in water, fractures 

in largely non-inhalable chunks, and is not easily 

vaporized.

These features of the fuel reduce the potential for it 

to be transported in the environment or vaporized 

into small particles, which represent a human health 

hazard when inhaled or ingested. The MMRTG design has several layers of safety features that further 

minimize this possibility. NASA and DOE have demonstrated that potential mission risks are very small, 

as documented in the Final Environmental Impact 

Statement for the mission.

The team preparing to respond to any launch accident involving the nuclear 

material aboard Mars Science Laboratory includes a variety of experts from 

federal, state and local agencies.

This contingency planning task takes on an added 

dimension when the payload being launched into 

space carries nuclear material. The primary goals 

of radiological contingency planning are to assess 

whether a release of radioactive material has occurred due to a launch-area accident, to quantify the 

magnitude and nature of any material released, to 

predict where the material is likely to be dispersed (if 

at all), and to formulate guidance on any appropriate 

protective actions to be taken. This guidance covers 

both on-site actions and those that are recommended for any off-site response. 

This planning is based on the fundamental principles 

of advance preparation (including rehearsals of simulated launch accident responses), the timely availability of technically accurate and reliable information, 

and prompt external communication with the media 

and general public.

The Radiological Control Center (RADCC) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the primary facility used 

to coordinate all radiological contingency planning 

activities. NASA has modernized and expanded the 

RADCC to accommodate all of the participants in 
JPL 400-1441 03/11 NASA Facts

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California

www.nasa.gov

Follow Mars Science Laboratory on Twitter and Facebook: 

twitter.com/MarsCuriosity

www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity

For further information, contact:

David Lavery

Science Mission Directorate

NASA Headquarters

Washington, DC 20546

(202) 358-4684

david.lavery@hq.nasa.gov

Thirty of these advanced 

environmental monitors 

(center) will be deployed 

in the surrounding area 

in advance of the Mars 

Science Laboratory 

launch.

the radiation monitoring and assessment team in a single facility. 

This allows for a more efficient and coordinated approach to collection, analysis and delivery of the most up-to-date information 

in the event of an accident. 

The RADCC will house the NASA federal Coordinating Agency 

Representative (CAR), and representatives from the Brevard 

County Department of Emergency Management and the State 

of Florida’s Department of Emergency Management. Key federal 

participants include experts from the U.S. Air Force, DOE, the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of 

Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The center will also be in live contact with both the county and 

the state’s Emergency Operations Centers, and other federal 

emergency operations centers as may be necessary.

The associated Joint Information Center will receive regular updates on potential accident conditions from the RADCC, and will 

be responsible for communicating information concerning any 

protective-action recommendations for the surrounding communities deemed prudent by the assessment team, and approved 

by the CAR and the management group that supports him. The 

Joint Information Center will distribute ongoing status messages 

to the NASA launch commentator, the NASA KSC news center, 

and the state and local emergency operations teams regarding any accident situation. Related information will be available 

directly to the public via the Web, text messaging, and social 

media feeds, which will be widely advertised before launch.

The RADCC will receive its primary status information from a 

network of 30 remote devices called Environmental Continuous 

Air Monitors (ECAMs). Each ECAM features a specialized sensor 

at the average height of a human being that is capable of selecting for airborne particles that could be potentially hazardous to 

human health. These data are reported automatically by each 

ECAM via satellite communications links to the control center. 

The ECAMs being deployed for the launch of Curiosity are substantially more sensitive than the previous generation of such 

detection systems. These ECAMs will be distributed strategically 

around the launch area, with 19 of the 30 placed in off-site areas 

surrounding KSC. The ECAMs will be installed and operating 

about six weeks prior to launch of Curiosity in locations selected 

using information on prevailing local meteorological conditions. 

Four of the ECAMs will be deployed to locations selected just 

prior to the launch to maximize the effective coverage area of the 

overall network, based on the weather forecast and precise liftoff time window for that day. 

Sixteen mobile field-monitoring teams will be deployed during 

launch to provide additional ground measurement data and, in 

the event of an accident, to respond to and validate any positive 

signal from one or more of the ECAMs. These teams include experts in industrial safety and health physics, in addition to the fire 

safety and emergency medical teams that are on alert for every 

launch.

NASA, DOE and local and state emergency managers do not 

expect public health and safety to be significantly affected even 

in the unlikely event of a launch accident. If an accident does 

occur, public information alerts could include precautionary guidance to shelter indoors for a limited period. There are no credible 

accident scenarios for the launch of Mars Science Laboratory 

that would require evacuation of the surrounding area. 

Advance briefings will be provided to civic organizations, local 

schools, and hospitals to avert any unnecessary emergency 

response. In all cases, accurate and prompt information on the 

status of the Curiosity launch and any actions recommended for 

the public will be communicated widely and openly to the news 

media and to people in the surrounding communities.