Rover "Curiosity" lands on Mars tonight!
 

The 567 million kilometer, 36-week journey comes to an end tonight!

Update: We landed on Mars! Want to know more? Follow the mission at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Watching the sim and live feed. This is killer.

For those that don't know, view this.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4boyXQuUIw"]Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Animation - YouTube[/ame]

Amazing!

Update: One hour to entry.

To give some perspective to those people seeing it for the first time. The rover specs are as follows:

Rover name: Curiosity
Length: 9 feet, 10 inches (3.0 meters)
Wheel diameter: 20 inches (0.5 meter)
Weight: 1,982-pound (899-kilogram)
Power: Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator and lithium-ion batteries

I can't wait for this to land. It better land correctly, I'm so obsessed with everything Mars, it's even more amazing that opportunity is still alive on the surface.

Same here!

anything space related is always interesting

Currently listening to the live stream..about 35 minutes until landing now...Ahhh I hope it makes it, the only thing that worries me is the sky crane, the U.S. has a better than average landing ratio on mars, but that sky crane seems needlessly complicated, though there was no other way

Yep. And it benefits all humankind.

I'm just bummed we won't have video footage to enjoy. The simulations make it look so cool!

I know man!! I hope they have some cameras on the sky crane that films it once it is lowered. For some reason I find it extremely creepy when the rovers land and they are able to find the debris from their arrival. It sounds stupid but to me this is one of the most fascinating photographs ever taken:

4 minutes to entry. Mars gravity is now pulling the vehicle in. It's traveling ~12,400mph. Wow.

Okay I'm leaving the computer. Talk to you in the morning!

Shoulda went with 17"s.