SolarSystemSagas

NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack.

Get a behind the scenes look a the tension, anticipation and exhilaration experienced by scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. during the Curiosity rover's harrowing descent through the Martian atmosphere -- known as "Seven Minutes of Terror." News of Curiosity's safe touchdown following the 13-thousand-to-zero-mile-an-hour descent to the Red Planet's surface brought elation and high-fives all around. Curiosity begins a two-year investigation of whether Mars is or ever was capable of supporting microbial life.

Science Chat with NASA's John Grunsfeld and JPL's Charles Elachi

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif, hosts a briefing for media following the Curiosity rover's successful landing in Gale Crater on the Red Planet.

MSL Landing Recap and Sol 1 Outlook

MSL Mission Status and Entry, Descent and Landing Overview

MSL Mission Engineering Overview

MSL/Curiosity Pre-Landing News Conference and Rover Communication Overview

MSL Mission Science Overview

The most advanced robot ever sent to another world is nearing its destination, and NASA scientists and managers at a Headquarters news briefing called the Curiosity Rover mission the hardest one attempted in the history of robotic planetary exploration. Curiosity is scheduled to land on Mars in the early morning hours of August 6, Eastern. Also, J-2X Test; 'Chutes Assured; New Digs for Space Trio; Science Supporters; Space Sojourn; Enterprise Unveiled; Remembering Apollo 11; and more.

Actor and writer Wil Wheaton hosts this compelling video showcasing the "Grand Entrance" of NASA's Curiosity rover at Mars in the most difficult planetary science mission in history.

Actor William Shatner narrates this thrilling video about NASA's Curiosity rover, from its entry and descent through the Martian atmosphere to its landing and exploration of the Red Planet in NASA's hardest planetary science mission to date.

The Mars Science Laboratory, the hardest mission ever attempted in planetary robotic exploration is about to prove its mettle with the landing of its Curiosity rover on the Red Planet. Live coverage begins at 11:30 p.m. Eastern on NASA TV.

Curiosity Rover team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., re-live the dramatic Aug. 6, 2012 landing and the mission's achievements to date in an event aired on NASA Television and the agency's website. In the year since inspiring millions of people worldwide with its one-of-a-kind landing in a crater on the Red Planet, Curiosity has achieved its primary scientific objective; finding evidence that ancient Mars could have sustained microbial life and has returned invaluable scientific data and images.

Team members share the challenges of Curiosity's final minutes to landing on the surface of Mars.

With less than three weeks to the scheduled landing of the Curiosity rover on the Red Planet, leaders of Mars Science Laboratory team field questions form media about the mission, the most difficult ever undertaken in the history of interplanetary robotic exploration.

We're NASA and We Know It (Mars Curiosity) Satire Performed by David Hudson [http://twitter.com/dubhud] Executive Producer: Alexander JL Theoharis [http://twitter.com/Satire] Director: Forest Gibson [http://twitter.com/ForestGibson] Editors: Cinesaurus [http://cinesaurus.com] Steven Hudson [http://twitter.com/HudsonFilm] & David Hudson [http://twitter.com/DubHud] Written by Rob Whitehead [http://twitter.com/RobCWhitehead] Prop Designer: Christopher Parker [http://twitter.com/chrstphrprkr] Costumer: Jared Cheshier [http://twitter.com/JaredMonkey] Camera Operator: Forest Gibson, Steven Hudson, Jon Sim Cast: Steven Hudson, Tara Theoharis [http://twitter.com/geekyhostess], Zac Cohn [http://twitter.com/zaccohn], Danielle Sparks [http://twitter.com/dannysparky], Kevin Lane [http://twitter.com/_kevin_lane_], Monica Houston, Anne Ketola, Tim Uomoto [http://twitter.com/FRockClothing], Brendan Uomoto, Alexander JL Theoharis Promotional Support: Zac Cohn and Tara Theoharis Special Thanks to Anne Ketola for all the awesome NASA gear, and David Zimmerman for video equipment! Lyrics: When I EDL, time for seven minutes of flamin' hell Rover's touchin' down everybody passin' peanuts around, yeah We're at mission control, getting full use outta ev-er-y Sol (wa!) Just 25 feet left to go It's Curiosity, look out below (yo) Crane lower that rover (ah) Crane lower that rover (ah) Crane lower that rover (ah) N-N-N-Now bug out! Crane lower that rover Crane lower that rove Crane lower that rover Now bug out! Kickin' it at my con(sole), this is what I see (okay) Data streaming back from curiosity I got stars on my 'hawk and I ain't afraid to show it (show it, show it, show it) We're NASA and we know it We're NASA and we know it (Yo) When I look for ice, gotta calibrate, gotta be precise And when I raise the mast, panoramic views are unsurpassed (wha?) This is how I rove, baking red rocks in my nuclear stove We headed to the peak, with my laser eye No one to bury me when it's time to die (ow!) Crane lower that rover Crane lower that rover Crane lower that rover Now bug out! Crane lower that rover Crane lower that rover Crane lower that rover Now bug out! Shoutout to Carl the Sage (and) Neil Degrasse T (B.A.!) Shoutout to JPL and the Rocker-Bogie We're better than SpaceX And we ain't afraid to show it (show it, show it, show it) We're NASA and we know it We're NASA and we know it

A NASA's Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

A NASA's Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012 which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover's analytical laboratory instruments.

A NASA's Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

A NASA's Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

Analysis of the first sample of rock powder ever collected on Mars is discussed in this NASA TV briefing from the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Mar. 12.

A NASA Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012 which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover's analytical laboratory instruments.

A NASA Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012 which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover's analytical laboratory instruments.

A NASA Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012 which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover's analytical laboratory instruments.