In less than one week, we will be reminded how as a species, if we channel our will and energies into the right place, we can accomplish amazing things. The Mars Science Laboratory or Curiosity will land on the surface of Mars at approximately 10:31 PM PST on Sunday, August 5, 2012.
The mission will attempt to deliver the largest rover to Martian surface to date using a land system not utilized before. The new landing technique was required due to the size of the rover. For second time in history, an orbiting spacecraft will witness a lander’s descent onto Mars, as NASA has positioned Odyssey to observe the magical moment.
I get so excited when it comes to planetary space probes. I know we live in world that is far from perfect but it’s times like these I feel like we were able to get it together just long enough to send an incredible piece of machinery and land it on another planet. Visit the official NASA Curiosity site for a real-time countdown to the landing and for links to live video of the control room during the landing. I cannot wait for Sunday night!