a chance at experiencing their own Mars landing with a Java-
powered simulator. The JPL’s Java-based simulator, known as Eyes
on the Solar System, takes users through the details of the
landing procedure that NASA officials have termed the “Seven
Minutes of Terror.” The Web-based simulator is available to
anyone with a browser and enables users to go back and forward
in time to get a better sense of what the Curiosity mission is
like. NASA said the one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a
rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week
flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science
Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in
every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars,
including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway
maneuver of the rocket backpack. This slide show takes a look at
the Curiosity rover from a simulation perspective as well as
some up-close images of the unit.