The Mars Science Laboratory Project built and operates the rover Curiosity, which has been investigating past and current environments in Gale Crater on the Red Planet since its dramatic sky-crane landing in August 2012. The rover has 10 science instruments to investigate whether an area within Gale Crater ever has offered an environment favorable for microbial life.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
More information about the award and images of the team receiving the award are available at:
http://airandspace.si.edu/events/pressroom/releaseDetail.cfm?releaseID=312 .
Several NASA planetary mission teams have won the award in previous years, including last year, when NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn, also managed by JPL, picked up the trophy. For a full listing of previous awardees, visit: http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/trophy/nasm.cfm .
For more about the mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl , http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ and http://www.nasa.gov/msl .
You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .