I'm having a hard time picking my chin up off the floor after viewing NASA's animated rendering of how the Mars rover "Curiosity," which launched today, is supposed to land on the planet's surface.
You must see this:
The SUV-sized Curiosity – the largest such explorer ever to be launched – must navigate an 8.5 month journey before landing in dramatic, convoluted fashion among the red rocks.
So, we have a bit of a wait until learning whether or not this elaborate choreography is executed to perfection.
But if this works as intended, I will gladly bow to those behind this at the Mars Science Laboratory.
Simply amazing.
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Author's Note: A commenter to the above video offered a funny, ironic quip that was one of my first thoughts after viewing:
This seems incredibly simple and not at all prone to a technical failure.
Let's hope our collective sarcastic impulses are thoroughly routed by NASA's technical brilliance.