NASA goes nuts over Mars landing
Emotions were sky high after NASA's rover Curiosity successfully landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and the world continues to watch in fascination as the rover beams back images of the Martian surface.
NASA’s rover Curiosity successfully landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, surviving a dramatic arrival deemed the “seven minutes of terror.”
NASA’s rover Curiosity successfully landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, surviving a dramatic arrival deemed the “seven minutes of terror.”
The control room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., burst into cheers as the rover touched down successfully.
Team members shook hands, embraced and high-fived one another in celebration.
The extremely difficult landing was a sophisticated process involving a sky crane and the world's largest supersonic parachute.
The precise landing location was meticulously chosen by NASA to avoid hitting mountains and craters that would have damaged the rover.
When the rover landed at the target location, Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent and Landing Engineer Adam Steltzner was excited the mission was going according to plan so far.
The $2.6 billion Curiosity contains 17 cameras, a laser that can survey the composition of rocks from a distance and instruments that can analyze samples from soil or rocks.
The rover immediately beamed back grainy pictures from Mars that were black and white. One showed its wheel resting on the stony ground, and the vehicle's shadow was visible in another.
This photo show Mount Sharp, which is where Curiosity will conduct much of its scientific research. Mount Sharp is about 3.4 miles high.
This black and white image shows part of the rim of Gale Crater.
The first high-resolution color image of the Mars landscape came a little more than a day after the rover landed. It shows a distant view of the north wall and rim of Gale Crater, which NASA has said is about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combines. The lens is still covered by a dust cover, which is why the image is murky; the dust cover will be removed in about a week.
NASA also received 297 color images of the rover landing.
The first photos sent back weren’t from the rover itself, but were captured by the Mars Descent Imager as the rover landed. This photo shows the 15-foot heat shield from about 50 feet away.
This image shows dust swirling on the Martian floor as it is kicked up by rocket motor exhaust. At this point, the rover is 70 feet above the surface.
This image shows dark dunes and escarpments ranging from a few feet high to 10s of feet high on the surface of the planet.
This image was obtained by Curiosity's Mars Descent Imager. It illustrates the first appearance of the left front wheel of the Curiosity rover after deployment of the suspension system as the vehicle was about to touch down on Mars.
This image was obtained by Curiosity's Mars Descent Imager and is representative of the images acquired once the Curiosity rover was resting on the surface of Mars after touchdown.
NASA says the aim of the rover's work is "to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms."
Even if Curiosity finds organic molecules in sedimentary layers on Mars, it is not proof that life existed. These molecules are also found in bus exhaust fumes and meteorites, an MSL team member said.
However, Curiosity's mission is also significant, because NASA budgets are shrinking and China is becoming more ambitious in its space exploration program, according to CNN.
The White House was well aware of the achievement. President Barack Obama said in a statement: “The successful landing of Curiosity -- the most sophisticated roving laboratory ever to land on another planet -- marks an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future.”
White House Science and Technology Advisor John Holdren, third standing from left, stopped by on Sunday to meet the landing team.
The Mars Science Laboratory team welcomed him as he toured the control room.
Team members were given packs containing a Mars bar and peanuts in the Mission Support Area at JPL the night before the landing.
Curiosity's first stop in its mission is Gale Crater, which may have once contained a lake. After at least a year, the rover will arrive at Mount Sharp, in the center of the crater.
Curiosity is scheduled to last for two years on Mars, but it may operate longer. Two other rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have landed on Mars in the past. Spirit stopped communicating with NASA in 2010 after getting stuck in sand, and Opportunity is still going.
Celebrities also took part in the achievement. Musician will.i.am attended a news conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab on Sunday to promote science and technology education.
To read more about the Mars rover landing, click here.
