Brilliant 1:10 scale model of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover and powered descent stage handmade by master craftsman and model maker Isao Hirai of Hawthorne’s Scale Model Company. Commissioned for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2011, the two-part model is constructed of metal and composite materials and is comprised of the rocket-powered descent stage and the six-wheeled MSL rover, which features components like the ChemCam, the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), and the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), the latter attached to an extendable robotic arm. The rover and descent stage approximately measure 11˝ x 18˝ x 8.75˝ and 14˝ x 6˝ x 14˝, respectively. Includes a custom C-shaped presentation stand, 23˝ x 38.5˝ x 21.5˝, with the floor emulating the Martian terrain and the ceiling designed for mounting the descent stage. The exposed underside of which contains the sky crane, a system of three ropes that can be lowered and attached to the rover; a button on top of the descent stage can be used to retract the sky crane ropes. In overall fine condition. Accompanied by the original instruction sheet from the Scale Model Co.
Originates from the collection of craftsman and model maker Isao Hirai.
