› View Now How Hard Is It to Land Curiosity on Mars? On a scale
from one to 10, landing on Mars is a 20! Curiosity is the
biggest, most capable Mars rover yet, and needs a new type of
landing to reach the ground safely. In this seven-minute trip to
the surface of Mars, we have to slow down from over 13,000 miles
an hour down to zero. Hundreds of things have to go just right.
• hit the atmosphere at just the right angle • endure extreme
heat from friction as it descends through the atmosphere • open
its parachute at just the right time • use radar to know exactly
how high it is • free itself from the parachute • perfectly fire
eight rocket engines to slow final descent • drop down, dangling
on four cables • lock its wheels in place just before landing •
and cut the cables right at the moment of touchdown. And, even
if we do everything right, Mars can always surprise us. It’s a
big challenge, but a big opportunity – to help unlock the
mysteries of Mars. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
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