Curiosity one week from crashing OR landing on Mars
As a space nerd I am super excited about this mission. I have a feeling the first images will be of some alien posing for the camera, possibly doing the “duck face”
Scientist (much smarter than us unless you are one of them and if so that is super cool that you are reading HowsYourRobot.com) have planed one of the most complicated and high risk landings ever.
Touchdown is scheduled for 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT) next Monday, Earth-receive time.
I am really hoping this is a live event somewhere on TV. It would be nice to watch this happen live instead of water polo. #2012LondonOlympics
UPDATE: I looked into it a bit and I do not think it will be televised but there is info about watching online here http://spaceindustrynews.com/nasa-curiosity-cam/
Check out the animation below that demonstrates how the rover will enter, descend and land on the surface of Mars.
From spaceflight.com:
This is an artist’s concept of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its cruise. The spacecraft includes a disc-shaped cruise stage (on the left) attached to the aeroshell that contains the rover and descent stage. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Firing its thrusters for a mere six seconds early Sunday, NASA’s Mars-bound Curiosity rover added more precision to its flight path for a high-stakes entry, descent and landing next Monday morning.
Curiosity, packed within its protective descent pod, will enter Mars’ atmosphere at a speed of about 13,200 mph (5,900 meters per second) and touch down on the red planet’s surface at just 1.7 mph only seven minutes later. The heat shield, parachute and novel rocket-powered “sky crane” will work in sequence to slow the car-sized rover enough to set its wheels directly onto the ground at landing.
This animation demonstrates how the rover will enter, descend and land on the surface of Mars.
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