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http://www.youtube.com/embed/XRCIzZHpFtY?rel=0
Above is a Youtube video depicting the flights of Spirit and Opportunity, two earlier Mars rovers which have landed on the red planet and sent back oceans of data. One of these little devils is still operating almost 9 years later. Curiosity, the latest craft to be sent to Mars, used a slightly more sophisticated (and complicated) landing technique since it is quite a bit larger than the other two (about the size of a small car). The only problem with the video is that it depicts the boosters making noise in space. But, of course, sound doesn’t propagate where there is no atmosphere.
NASA’s latest Mars rover, nicknamed Curiosity, and about the size of a compact car, is scheduled to touchdown on the red planet this Monday, August 6. The landing will be the most complicated ever attempted, using a combination of aero-braking, parachute, and retro-rocket firing. Everything has to work perfectly or Curiosity will end up being a useless pile of expensive rubble. Curiosity is equipped to find out whether life might have once existed on Mars. A full-sized replica of Curiosity is on display at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Visit www.exploratorium.edu/mars for more information.
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