[youtube_video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT1sXxRMvIk[/youtube_video]
Video produced using elements from NASA videos
PASADENA, Calif., – AmericaSpace’s Craig Covault and Frank O’Brien are at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California in preparation for the arrival of the Mars Science Laboratory rover “Curiosity” to the Martian surface. Curiosity is set to enter into the entry descent and landing (EDL) phase, more commonly known as the “seven minutes of terror” in the early hours of Aug. 6.
Covault and O’Brien interviewed Pete Theisinger, the project manager on MSL and John Grotzinger, the mission’s project scientist.
EDL is the one point in the mission where the spacecraft is on its own. It will plunge into the atmosphere and land on the surface of the Red Planet on its own. The entire EDL process will last seven minutes – but the distance between Mars and Earth is so great it takes 14 minutes for the transmissions to get back to controllers at JPL.
AmericaSpace and The Mars Society have partnered to provide in-depth coverage of the arrival of the Mars Science Laboratory rover “Curiosity” to Mars. Stay tuned for regular updates as AmericaSpace correspondents Craig Covault and Frank O’Brien travel to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California for live coverage.
Really informative. Cant wait to hear more.