Marion Pellicano Ambrose
NASA's attempt to land Mars rover, Curiosity this morning, was a huge success. There was much cheering and congratulating in Mission Control at NASA in California. The rover, and the thousands of NASA workers, survived the dreaded "seven minutes of terror" when so many things could have gone wrong, but nothing did!
The landing process, involved a sky crane and the world's largest supersonic parachute, allowing the spacecraft carrying Curiosity to target the landing area that scientists have chosen. This type of landing had never been attempted before.
The rover began its journey to Mars 8 months ago. Today it begins its mission to investigate Mars, searching for signs of life from the past and sending information to scientists to evaluate the possibility of it sustaining life in the future. Curiosity's first stop will be Gale Crater, which may have once contained a lake. After at least a year, the rover will arrive at Mount Sharp, in the center of the crater. The rover will drive up the mountain examining layers of sediment. This process is like looking at a historical record because each layer represents an era of the planet's history.
Exciting stuff! What was once Science Fiction is now reality!
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