"A Voyage to Mars" Amazing Landing System by Nasa's Curiosity Rover Mission to Mars this August

Nasa's $2.5bn Curiosity rover mission to the surface of the Red Planet is on Monday 6 August whilst most of the world's attention is on the London Olympics the mobile Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) should bring about a revolution in our understanding of the geological history of the planet... provided it can land safely.

Adam Steltzner and his team have devised a breath-taking approach to the problem that involves a rocket-powered crane. "It's so aspiring; it's so audacious and also so unconventional that I hope most of us keep our figures cross for a successful outcome
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft successfully fine-tuned its course to better zero in on its target entry point into the Martian atmosphere on landing day. Two brief thruster firings totalling about six seconds altered the spacecraft's velocity slightly, by about one-fortieth of one mile per hour (one centimetre per second). This trajectory correction manoeuvres—the fourth since MSL's launch—adjusted the point at which Curiosity will enter the Martian atmosphere by about 13 miles (21 kilometres). On landing day, MSL can steer enough during its flight through the upper atmosphere to correct for a miss of the target entry point by a few miles and still land within its target ellipse. Mission engineers and managers rated the projected 13-mile miss big enough to warrant a correction manoeuvre. Telemetry and tracking data indicate the manoeuvre was successful. MSL will have two further opportunities for additional course corrections during the final 48 hours before landing, if needed.

This video shows an artistic approach in telling the story of this audacious mission by NASA spacecraft to reach Mars -- please note that it is not produced by factual material based on science or actual Voyage data and rather it is a produced to tell the story based on the material that is available with necessary copy-write. So take it as seen and I have done my best to be close as possible to the facts. This complication is to wish Nasa all the best for successful landing next week.