Parents
Educators
Class Code
Log In
Sign Up

Mars Rover: How a Self-Portrait Captured the Power of Curiosity

Mars Rover: How a Self-Portrait Captured the Power of Curiosity book cover
Chapter One SEVEN TERRIFYING MINUTES Hundreds of people crowded into New York’s Times Square looking up at a huge screen after midnight on August 6 2012 They were hoping to see the next chapter in space exploration unfold Many more watched in science center auditoriums across the United States Millions watched online hoping for a glimpse of the surface of the planet that appears as a red dot in Earth’s sky Whether this chapter would end with triumph or disaster was anyone’s guess Almost nine months earlier the U S National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA had launched a spacecraft toward Mars with a wheeled robot packed inside For a decade engineers working on the Mars Science Lab mission labored over the design and construction of the one-ton rover which was named Curiosity The rover rests low on six wide wheels Scientific instruments are attached to its body and some cluster at the end of a mechanical arm Lenses and instruments mounted on its mast suggest a face The size of a small car the rover cost almost 2 5 billion the price of a movie ticket for every person in the United States according to mission geochemist Roger Wiens The public would get its money’s worth 1