At a little past 10:30pm Pacific time on Sunday, the Mars rover Curiosity successfully navigated “seven minutes of terror” to land on the Martian planet. Livestream of the JPL control room showed NASA scientists cheering, even crying, in delight.
Now ahead of the NASA team is months, if not years, of careful exploration. There is still plenty to learn, as Curiosity gets its bearings. It will begin to send color photos and more data in the coming weeks. Curiosity’s assignment? Try to find evidence of a once-habitable climate.
Also, did you know the Mars rover launched in 2007 is still there? It’s logged over 21 miles since landing.
Learn more about the latest space feat that has everyone talking:
NASA rover Curiosity makes historic Mars landing, beams back photos – Reuters
Mars rover Q&A with Bill Nye the Science Guy – Los Angeles Times
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Lands Safely on Mars – Wired