Aug 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars

On this day in space! Aug. 6, 2012: NASA lands huge Curiosity rover on Mars with a rocket-powered sky crane

On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface. At the time, the Curiosity rover was the biggest and most ambitious Mars rover that NASA ever launched. Its landing involved a new kind of maneuver that had never been tried before using something called a "sky crane." Like previous rovers that have landed on Mars, Curiosity used a parachute and rocket engines to slow down as it descended through the Red Pl…

Aug 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars

NASA launched its Mars rover Curiosity inside the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on Nov. 26, 2011. Complete with 10 science instruments and 17 cameras, the robot can analyze mineral types, search for signs of microbial life, and take color panoramas of the Red Planet’s surface. Curiosity’s landing on Mars was a new process, nicknamed theContinue reading "Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars" The post Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars appeare…