Watching MSL Curiousity Approach/Landing Now.

[saundby]

While we don't usually do "live threads" here, thought I'd post and see if anyone else is watching.

They just had cruise stage separation, and things are looking good so far.

Edit: It's down. The folks at JPL are going wild. Hard thing to sit there and watch your work at the end of a light time delay, wondering if you're going to be a Phoenix or if you're going to be another MPL.

Half a million lines of code, seven stages to landing. They pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

Good thing--MSL is basically IT for Mars for the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

They see a wheel on the first image. Woot!

 

[ShapeShifter]

It just landed. Let's hope all's well.

 

[aramis]

Well, the thing's down, and sent back pics. Too bad it didn't discover it had landed in a mudpuddle...

 

[jappel]

I was watching live but not on here at the time. I had a brief flashback to being 5 years old and watching the Eagle land on the Moon.

 

[aramis]

I was watching live but not on here at the time. I had a brief flashback to being 5 years old and watching the Eagle land on the Moon.

I was 4, but, yep, me, too! Glad I'm not the only one!

 

[ShapeShifter]

This is quite a grand image. Can't wait for the colour, HIRES pics!

 

[saundby]

I was 6 for Eagle, but this one felt more like Viking. Nobody on board, after all.

I am looking forward to a repeat of that Eagle landing experience...

I'm glad they stuck this one really well. About 76cm/s drop rate and double-oh-nothing horizontal when they hit dirt. Then pictures before the dust cleared.

Piles of data flowing in already. We've done a great job building a data network over Mars, it's really paying off. I hope we get something similar going on the Moon, and some ability tot transfer data when the Sun gets between us and Mars. Building the comms infrastructure is a big part of making it easier to get out into the solar system and get the most out of our spacecraft, manned and unmanned.