August 6, 2012—Early Monday NASA scientists erupted with cheers, tears, and fist pumps at the successful completion of one of the most complicated spacecraft landings ever attempted.
After carrying out its "seven minutes of terror" landing sequence with clockwork precision, the Curiosity rover landed wheels-down on the surface of Mars and within minutes sent back pictures of rocky Gale Crater.
Capping a 36-week voyage from Earth to Mars, the Curiosity spacecraft landing was one of the most complicated ever attempted.
The NASA named “Seven Minutes of Terror” passed without disappointment.
NAT SOUND
SOUNDBITE: Charles Elachi, Director, NASA Jet Propulson Laboratory
“I kept thinking about the Olympics. And our team, we didn’t know going there if we would win, but they did everything right, and this team: they won the gold!”
In one of the last complicated, computer programmed technical landing maneuvers, a “sky-crane” lowered the rover onto Mars, wheels down.
And later, Curiosity rewarded its creators with the first black and white images of what it sees—one of those wheels in the foreground. Before this image was captured, a dust cover over the camera lens was sprung open, and part of the spring that released it is seen at the bottom right, near the rover’s wheel.
Other cameras on the Rover will send back color images after the rover’s mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed.
NASA hopes Curiosity will spend two years roving the Mars surface investigating whether the region ever offered conditions favorable for life.
