Curiosity

Early, . . . very early East Coast Time, . . . tomorrow morning a spacecraft named "Curiosity" is scheduled to land on the planet Mars.




Rocket Scientist DonDiego finds the proposed landing sequence, . . . umm, . . . interesting, and complex. Or as one "Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Engineer" explains: "It looks crazy."

Video: Seven Minutes of Terror

The projected landing is well past poor old DonDiego's bedtime. Nonetheless he intends to be watching as it happens; there is a significant possibility he will be asleep in the chair before the television, as this history is made.

If the reader is in Manhattan, he can watch the descent live on a large screen in Times Square.

Wow! An electric powered vehicle developed by private companies with financial help from the Federal Government? What a strange curiosity.

Pun intended.

Gold medal goes to NASA.

DonDiego adds his congratulations to the folks at NASA and JPL.



Of the 39 previous spacecraft sent to the angry red planet, 15 succeeded and 24 failed.
The score is now 16 to 24.

EDITED TO ADD:
DonDiego's earlier prediction was correct; he was sound asleep at the time of the Mars landing.

A bit misleading - by NASA, not DonDiego. About 19 of those failures were by the Soviets. Some were from the 1960's, and some never even left the ground. When NASA has targeted Mars as a destination or a flyby, they are batting .730. On attempted Mars landings, they are 6 out of 7.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Mount Sharp

Close-Up Photo of Martian Surface