NASA’s rover Curiosity touched down deep in a Martian crater early Monday after a picture-perfect descent and landing, beginning what promises to be the most ambitious planetary mission in history.
Jubilant NASA engineers and scientists let out a loud and prolonged whoop when the data came in indicating that the one-ton rover had touched down. It remains unknown exactly what shape the $2.5 billion rover is in, but the fact that it survived its “Seven Minutes of Terror†descent was cheered like the grandest Olympic triumph.
Marc Kaufman and National Geographic give you the inside story on the Curiosity rover, which is about to land on Mars. Click on the image above to read an excerpt from the e-book.
The descent and touch down were tracked by the Mars orbiter Odyssey, which allowed Curiosity to send black-and-white fisheye images within minutes of the rover’s wheels on the ground.
Described by top NASA officials as their “mission of the decade,†the just-delivered rover will search for the makings of extraterrestrial life as well as investigate how and why Mars turned from a once wet and warm planet into the dry and cold place it is now. The complex, precision landing and sophisticated instruments could hasten the day when humans fly to Mars as well.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,†said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “This is a huge day for the American people.â€
The landing took place within the 9-by-3-mile ellipse selected for touchdown. The rover is most likely in a dune field now, but will set out for nearby Mount Sharp in the weeks ahead.
To get there, the Mars Science Laboratory spaceship (MSL) traveled 354 million miles since it’s Nov. 26 launch. It landed at 1:32 a.m., as planned months ago.
The MSL spacecraft went into entry mode almost 50 minutes before landing â€" meaning that mission control could do virtually nothing beyond that point. Soon after, leader of the Entry, Descent and Landing phase Adam Steltzner told the engineers in mission control that the spacecraft was about to enter Martian atmosphere in “fantastic†shape.
Mission officials had been concerned that the satellite Odyssey might not be able to move into the correct position to listen as MSL entered the atmosphere, but 20 minutes before entry, mission control learned the satellite had made the necessary moves and could track the entire descent and landing.
In keeping with the good fortune with Odyssey, the many milestones in the descent were met with loud applause and relieved laughter as one bit of good news came in after another.
A few hours before landing, NASA’s Chief Scientist, John Grunsfeld, concluded that “We’re about to do something that I think is just huge for humankind â€" put this chemistry lab on the surface of Mars that can rove, that can see, and that’s going to provide scientists on Earth a glimpse into the past history of Mars.
He likened the public excitement about Curiosity to the first Apollo moon landing in 1969. He said that the rover’s landing day happened to be the birthday of Neil Armstrong, the first moon walker. “We’re going to nail it for Neil,†Grunsfeld said.
A short time before landing, Grunsfeld predicted that “Curiosity will set us up for the day when men and women will land on the surface of Mars, and it might not be that far away.â€
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