That crazy landing idea worked, capturing the attention of the world, and inspiring a new generation of young space enthusiasts. Now, it’s onward to two years of learning how Mars formed and whether life once existed there.
In NASA’s most daring and complex extra-planetary landing, Curiosity touched down on Mars’ Gale Crater last night at 1:32 am (ET).
The harrowing seven minutes that brought Curiosity from an atmospheric entry of 13,000 mph to a soft standstill involved a seemingly impossible feat of engineering involving computerized guided flight, parachute deployment and slowing the craft doing supersonic speeds, retrorocket descent, and, in the final 65 feet, a sky-crane lowering of Curiosity to the ground.
To read the full, original article click on this link: 1: Graphics, Mars photos by NASA. Earth photos by Susan Karlin. | The Mars rover has landed! Scenes From The "Oscars For Geeks" | Co.Create: Creativity \ Culture \ Commerce
