GOLD on Mars 4 CURIOSITY: Technical Acumen - Gutsy Determination

The Curiosity rover, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, is the fourth rover to touch down on Mars since 1997. Thanks for imagining Curiosity, finding innovative design solutions to the challenges, integrating it all together and building on the foundation of past missions to reach our bold expectations. You inspire us and the next generation of explorers throughout the world, and make us proud! Congratulations to the JPL leadership and their team.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”  Theodore Roosevelt

• November 26, 2011 NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is tucked inside its Atlas V rocket, launched today from Cape Canaveral in Florida. 354 million miles journey will take a 8.5 month to reach Mars. Landing is expected in early August 2012 to start the 23 moth mission. 
• July 30, 2012  After the 354 Million Mile Journey for Curiosity the descent and landing procedure (The scariest seven minutes) begins. 

Curiosity Lands on Mars News Conference

What If ?

NASA/JPL-Caltech Total cost of the MSL project is about US $2.5 billion. 2012 Olympics cost over $14 billion.  What if the same effort, excitement, passion, and money put behind the Olympics were put toward space exploration? The cost of the Curiosity mission is less than one movie ticket per person, based on the U.S. population.  

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