Touchdown! NASA’s US$2.5 billion Curiosity rover made a dramatic touchdown on the Red Planet on Sunday (Monday, August 6 Manila time), marking a successful end to the most sophisticated Mars attempt in history. The robotic Curiosity rover will sample rocks on Mars to determine if the planet has ever had the conditions to support life. This is the fourth rover that NASA attempted to land on Mars since 1997 and it dwarfs previous efforts in size and sophistication. Two-thirds of all missions sent to the Red Planet have failed, failing to penetrate the thin but unforgiving Martian atmosphere. The rover is packed with scientific instruments, including a laser that can zap rocks and determine what they are made up of. NASA engineers have devised a descent strategy that hopes to deliver an intact vehicle to the Martian surface, particularly a deep depression known as the Gale Crater. “Touchdown confirmed,” a member of the NASA mission control’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, as the room erupted in cheers.
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