The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft carrying the 1-ton rover reached the surface at Gale Crater today at about 1:32 a.m. ET.
Shortly before Curiosity's entry, descent, and landing, Adam Steltzner, head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars landing team, told mission controllers: "She's there because you guys got her there."
"We have wheels down on Mars," JPL mission control confirmed as the first photos came in from Gale Crater.
One of Curiosity's six wheels is shown in an early photo from the surface. The rim of Gale Crater is visible in the upper right. (Source: JPL)
Stressing the importance of teamwork in getting Curiosity to Gale Crater, Steltzner said after the landing, "I am terribly humbled by this experience." Referring to the engineers who designed the risky sky crane technique, he added, "Thank you to the blue shirts."
"It doesn't get any better than this," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in the moments after the successful landing. Mission controllers were pacing nervously in the moments before touchdown as the MSL spacecraft maneuvered toward the surface using a sky crane landing technique for the first time.
NASA said Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools are the first of their kind on Mars, including a laser-firing instrument for checking elemental composition of rocks from a distance. Curiosity will explore Gale Crater and the sides of its peak, Mt. Sharp, for signs that the region ever harbored conditions favorable for microbial life.
NASA said confirmation of Curiosity's successful landing came in communications relayed by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and received by the Canberra, Australia, antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network. Steltzner said during a press conference that the sky crane landing looked, "very clean, very nominal."
John Grotzinger, the MSL project scientist overseeing Curiosity's surface activities, said commissioning activities aboard Curiosity will take several weeks as engineers check out its systems. Mission managers will begin using Curiosity's scientific instruments over the next few months before the rover starts making its way toward Mt. Sharp, the distinctive peak of Gale Crater. "We're in no hurry," added Pete Theisinger, the Mars Science Laboratory project manager. "We have a priceless national asset" on Mars.
This is a great engineering success story. The engineers involved deserve to be superstars. Certainly they have contributed more to our society than Justin Bieber has. They are the people who should be on posters on our kids' walls.
This is really a great achievement, but I don't know about seeing it live. I did get up early to watch the lunar impact mission LCROSS in `09, and I really wish I had stayed up to watch Shoemaker Levy 9 (predictions said that it would not be visible). In reading my post it now seems like I'm the typical Action Movie audience.
This is great, the gadget of all gadgets. This may be as significant as any space mission since the moon landing and early shuttle missions -- especially from an engineering point of view.
This is indeed a great accomplishment. Reading about the process in previous articles, it seemed that the process was, well, a bit crazy (I think I mentioned Rube Goldberg). Crazy or not, it worked. This is a real engineering triumph.
I stayed to watch and while impressed with the result was more than disappointed with the televised portion. Why were over forty blue shirts necessary in control? If necessary, what were they monitoring? Were they all engineers or were manufacturer reps there? We saw NASA administrators in the back, but no mention of why they were there. There was a 14 minute communications delay so were we watching the equivalent of Olympic TV delayed "real time"? Where was the coverage of key points? For example, When was the parachute deployed and jettisoned? What was the range of impact for a "safe" landing? What would of happened had the crane cables not separated? Would Curiosity vehicle been crushed or overturned? How far away is the delivery crane? Where was the followup and event closure. Backslapping was deserved, after all that was apparent complete success after eight years planning and delivery, but there was no disipline that the room. While the work was spectacular, the public presentation was a disaster, and that is why space is underfunded. Oh, and by the way, if you want engineers and scientists to be rock stars, tell the public what they do in a way that the viewer can understand AND want to emulate. Where is the modern day Jules Bergman and his crew?
I don't have cable so I watched it live via Space.com and nasa.gov. Just like all of the real and aborted Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo launches I was intent on witnessing every anticipated step and exulting in each success. It didn't matter that it was 14 minutes delayed. Their success reminded me of why I became an engineer. I love the feeling that comes when something I conceived of comes to fruition. What a high. As Herbert Hoover said about his career as an engineer ". . . the engineer himself looks back at the unending stream of goodness which flows from his successes with satisfactions that few professions may know. And the verdict of his fellow professionals is all the accolade he wants." Congratulations to the team!
Hey Naperlou- I agree; -- on two points. At the very tail of the previous article I posted a congratulatory comment after the landing on Monday morning, but I also lampooned Mr. Obama's quoted congratulatory comment as "hollow". Almost seemed as if he was betting against them.
On the other note, comparing the technical complexities to a Rube Goldberg device, the lampoon continues. If I was given that first set of difficult variables at the onset of the challenge, (14 minute delay coupled with 7 minute descent) I think I would have suggested engineering a slower landing to take 28 minutes! Seems like an easier problem to solve!
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