NASA is in the middle of a very important mission right now as they are always in the middle of something these days. This mission is a little different as it is one that will put a new rover onto the surface of Mars. The rover “Curiosity” is a new kind of rover that is a lot heavier than past rovers are so the guys at the NASA JPL had to come up with a new and creative way to put this rover on the surface of Mars.
The descent starts a tie frame known as the seven minutes of terror. Because once the Rover starts it’s descent, it is 14 minutes until NASA knows what happens to it. It could be running and successful, or completely destroyed. This is very risky and in the comments section for the video on NASA’s website, someone asked that very question of why are they using the new system. NASA’s response was, “it’s too heavy to use previous techniques. It’s very risky and bold. The odds are against us, but it’s the best way to do it given the size and weight of the vehicle. Seven minutes of terror!”
I want to feel good about this mission because I’m fairly certain that the smartest and most resourceful people in the entire world work at NASA. But this seems like a very expensive risk. The purpose of this mission is very important to our future as humans. The rover’s objectives include searching for past or present life, studying the Martian climate, studying Martian geology, and collecting data for a future manned mission to Mars.
Fingers crossed that they are able to find little Martian bacteria!
Check out this crazy video and realize that this is a huge gamble and it might be a while till we are able to send another one if it fails: