By Debbie Emery – Radar Reporter It was a small step for a
machine, but a giant leap for mankind when NASA’s Curiosity
rover successfully landed on the surface of Mars in the early
hours of Monday morning and transmitted the first images from
the Red Planet back to Earth. After traveling for eight months
over 352-million miles, the rover plunged through the Martian
atmosphere in what is known as the “seven minutes of terror” to
make a dramatic touchdown that involved a sky crane and the
world’s largest supersonic parachute to safely place it on the
landing area meticulously chosen by scientists, reported
CNN.com. Back home on Earth, the mission control in NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in California exploded into celebration
when the rover landed, with team members bursting into cheers,
hugging, high-fiving, and even shedding some happy tears. NASA’S
$2.5-billion mission involved the work of more than 5,000 people
from 37 states, some of whom had worked on the project for 10
years, and their labor did not g