New Mars rover launch 2011 (Curiosity, YouTube, eta August 2012))

[marcus]

Beautiful animation.

Landing system is novel and elegant. Hovering rocket platform lowers the vehicle on a cable to the the ground and then goes away.

A lot of the deceleration work at Mars is done by the planet's atmosphere, saving fuel weight.

Great stuff. Launch of "Curiosity" is supposed to happen later this year.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Bloody hell that's absolutely amazing!

 

[Integral]

Elegant, maybe, complex most certainly. Lots to go wrong with this landing system. Considering the ill luck that we have had with Mars missions this seems pretty ambitious. I hope that all goes well. It would be great to have a new rover on the surface of Mars.

 

[marcus]

Elegant, maybe, complex most certainly. Lots to go wrong ...

That's certainly true! A lot of elements that could go wrong. Several bold innovations that have probably never been tried before in Mars gravity.

Reminds me a little of old issues of Mission Impossible where the elite team uses hi-tech tools to sneak in thru the ventilator system of the headquarters of the foreign dictator. Suspense. So MANY things could go wrong. The calm courage of the team. Absolute level-headed confidence. You could call it "techno-drama". What anguish if it fails. What a triumph if it succeeds.

I want people to go to Ceres, not Mars. But the landing of the "Curiosity" rover on Mars, win or lose, is worth the price of admission in my book.

Ryan's comment captures the feeling.

 

[pmacias]

I am thrilled to see the progress being made in space exploration with the launch of the new Mars rover, Curiosity. The use of a hovering rocket platform to lower the vehicle to the ground is a novel and elegant solution, showcasing the innovative thinking and engineering skills of the team behind this project. It is also exciting to see the use of the planet's atmosphere to assist in the deceleration process, which not only saves on fuel weight but also demonstrates a deeper understanding of the Martian environment. I look forward to the launch of Curiosity and eagerly anticipate the groundbreaking discoveries it will make on the Red Planet. The beautiful animation of the launch and landing process on YouTube only adds to the excitement and anticipation for this mission. August 2012 cannot come soon enough.