﻿ Mars landing successful, now Curiosity can explore - 8/6/2012
- Flight Global  Mars landing successful, now Curiosity can
explore  This story is sourced from Flight International
Subscribe today »  One of the most ambitious landings in
planetary science came off with apparent near-perfection early
this morning when NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, was gently
deposited on the red planet by cables from a hovering rocket-
powered platform.  Flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, broke into applause as data
came through - from NASA's Mars Odyssey and the European Space
Agency's Mars Express orbiters - indicating that Curiosity had
been released safely. Minutes later a first image from one of
the rover's onboard cameras confirmed that the craft had
survived its nearly nine-month journey to Mars and "seven
minutes of terror" descent through the Martian atmosphere, to
reach its Gale Crater landing site.  The novel "sky crane"
landing technique was devised to cope with Curiosity