If the Olympic excitement has been distracting you, you might want to take note of this spectacular and astounding moment in history - the amazing success of the Curiosity Rover.
Curiosity is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, a long term series of robotic exploration mission of the red planet. Curiosity itself is a large mobile laboratory with a payload ten times that carried by previous rovers. Designed to roam the surface of Mars for at least a full Martian year (687 days), Curiosity is equipped with 17 cameras, a laser spectrometer and sample collectors (among other testing equipment) and is designed to test the Martian soil for potential signs of microbic life.
Curiosity successfully landed last week utilizing a spectacular and terrifying deployment system that combined reentry, parachute deployment and then a final descent via a tethered "sky-crane", a new and innovative landing deployment that had never been attempted before.
Essentially JPL and NASA have landed a rover the size of mini-Cooper on a planet more than 85 million kilometres away.
Curiosity successfully landed last week utilizing a spectacular and terrifying deployment system that combined reentry, parachute deployment and then a final descent via a tethered "sky-crane", a new and innovative landing deployment that had never been attempted before.
Essentially JPL and NASA have landed a rover the size of mini-Cooper on a planet more than 85 million kilometres away.
Curiosity is currently situated in Gale Crater, a massive 154 km wide crater estimated to have been created 3.5 billion years ago. The exposed terrain of the crater will allow Curiosity a full view of the range of Martian geology, opening a window into the planet history. The image to the right (courtesy of NASA), shows Curiosity on the surface of Gale Crater.
For a look at the surface, where Curiosity is currently, I highly recommend clicking on the link for a look at the incredible and immersive panorama that Andrew Boderov stitched together at 360 Cities blog.
For a look at the surface, where Curiosity is currently, I highly recommend clicking on the link for a look at the incredible and immersive panorama that Andrew Boderov stitched together at 360 Cities blog.
Find out more at NASA's Mars Science Laboratory site.
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