Article by Nadia Drake.
Science News
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Editor’s note: This is the first of two articles previewing the Mars Curiosity rover’s upcoming Mars landing. This installment describes the vehicle’s landing on the Red Planet, scheduled for Sunday evening, August 5, Pacific Daylight Time; the next will cover the rover’s science mission. Science News astronomy writer Nadia Drake will be covering the landing live from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
An enormous robot is about to hit the red dirt of Mars — not too hard, NASA hopes — in search of life-friendly environments, or remnants of them. The Curiosity rover’s off-road adventures will begin only if it survives a daring seven-minute, 125-kilometer plunge through the planet’s carbon dioxide atmosphere.
Scientists on Earth expect to observe the touchdown at 10:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on August 5.
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