When this post is 75 minutes old, Curiosity will touch down on Mars

CaptainDoggles · #1 08-06-2012, 04:16 AM

Streaming coverage live at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl

Exciting stuff!

Skoshi Tiger · #2 08-06-2012, 05:44 AM

Congratulations NASA.

All Systems GO!

FAB

WTE_Galway · #3 08-06-2012, 05:57 AM

Exciting stuff

CaptainDoggles · #4 08-06-2012, 06:19 AM

Press conference right now on www.nasa.gov/mars

Robert · #5 08-06-2012, 06:35 AM

As exciting as watching the early Apollo flights. Do we realize what has been accomlished and in how many different ways this could have gone wrong? Amazing! I was surprised the images were as clear as they were.

good work NASA, JPL.

Skoshi Tiger · #6 08-06-2012, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert

As exciting as watching the early Apollo flights. Do we realize what has been accomlished and in how many different ways this could have gone wrong? Amazing! I was surprised the images were as clear as they were.

good work NASA, JPL.

I remember reading a book by Michael Collins the Apollo Astronaut. In it he was talking about the lift off and pressing the buttons to release the first stage. He said there were close to a million individual components in the first stage, any of which would kill them if it failed at the wrong time and the sense of relief felt as the stage fell away.

At that point there were a million less things to worry about, and only five million other things left.

CaptainDoggles · #7 08-06-2012, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert

As exciting as watching the early Apollo flights. Do we realize what has been accomlished and in how many different ways this could have gone wrong? Amazing! I was surprised the images were as clear as they were.

good work NASA, JPL.

Agree 100%. The "sky-crane" concept is as novel as it is ambitious, and I felt a lot of tension as it was coming down. With the airbag landings they used for Spirit and Opportunity, it was sort of assumed that unless the bags failed to inflate it was pretty much impossible for the mission to fail once it got on-target for the landing zone.

With the Sky Crane it seemed that things could so easily go awry at each stage.

If anyone can do this, it's NASA. Proving again they're the cream of the crop.

I hope I live to see a manned mission to Mars.