Curiosity Has Landed
Posted by Brian Ventrudo
NASA’s Curiosity Rover safely touched down early Monday morning in one of humanity’s greatest displays of engineering acumen. This is an historic accomplishment for NASA at a time when success was badly needed, and it begins years of exploration and discovery on the Red Planet.
The mission of the Curiosity Rover, formally known as the Mars Science Laboratory, is to “assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life”.
But before the science begins, a team of crack engineers had to deliver the 899 kg spacecraft safely using an amazingly complex landing procedure that took the lander from 21,000 km/s to 2km/s in 7 minutes using a heat shield, supersonic parachute, and finally a rocket pack to lower the rover to the surface with 25-foot cables. It was an amazing achievement.
NASA has released a few images since the MSL landed. Here’s one taken by the rover showing its wheel and the distant landscape of Gale Crater in which the rover landed…
Here’s an image captured by NASA’s Reconnaissance Orbiter of the parachute and lander as they descend to the surface.
And here’s the first colour image of Mars taken by the MSL…
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There will be thousands more images and measurements coming in over the next weeks and months. The mission of the plutonium-powered rover is funded for 2 years, but it may last for much longer.
Let the science begin!
You can get updates and more images at the Mars Science Laboratory Mission page here:
Here is a moving video of the mission so far…
