DN Staff

May 13, 2015

1 Min Read
13 Truths Proved by NASA's Curiosity Rover

Luke Dubord, technical group supervisor, avionics subsystem engineering group, NASA, laid some truth on the opening keynote audience at last week's Embedded Systems Conference in Boston.

Dubord is a member of the team that safely landed NASA's Curiosity rover on the fourth planet from the sun, early on August 6, 2012, eastern time. Since then, it has been communicating with NASA's Mars Science Lab, passing valuable data and photos back to Earth.

In discussing the NASA Curiosity Rover's design, launch, successful landing, and continuing mission on Mars, Dubord touched on topics that, whether engineers want to accept or not, are real of all engineering, from simple consumer devices to complex spacecraft.

MORE FROM DESIGN NEWS: A Robotic Approach to Refueling Satellites

Nasa-Curiosity.jpg

  • 1. 'Fake it 'til you make it' doesn't apply to engineering.

  • 2. Timing can be everything.

  • 3. Communication is key.

  • 4. Safety first.

  • 5. The best laid plans can still fail.

  • 6. You are going to fail sometimes.

  • 7. And sometimes there are no second chances.

  • 8. Sometimes the best ideas are the crazy ones.

  • 9. Engineering can be messy.

  • 10. Good engineering is a thing of beauty.

  • 11. Trust your designs.

  • 12. There's always another project ahead.

  • 13. There's no I in "team."

Read more about these truths on our sister site, EDN.

Atlantic Design & Manufacturing, the largest advanced design and manufacturing trade show serving the Northeastern US, delivers thousands of senior level design and manufacturing professionals who are looking for new ideas, innovations, and solutions. A Design News event, Atlantic Design & Manufacturing will take place in New York, June 9-11, 2015. It’s your chance to meet qualified suppliers, get hands-on with the latest technologies, and expand your network. Learn more here.

Sign up for the Design News Daily newsletter.

You May Also Like