NASA needed some good PR. After recent cutbacks and the end of the Shuttle program, the space agency got EXACTLY what it needed late Sunday evening.
The historic landing of the Mars rover Curiosity went exactly as planned at 10:32pm Pacific time. The car-sized vehicle began sending images from the Red Planet moments after landing.
The project, officially called Mars Science Laboratory, cost $2.5 billion dollars and was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida back on November 26, 2011.
Because of the complicated nature of the landing which involved pyrotechnic detonations, parachutes, and nylon tethers, NASA engineers were anxiously waiting for transmissions after a period they called “seven minutes of terror.” This was due to the delay in receiving transmissions from the rover.
First image sent from Mars NASA rover Curiosity
When the first images arrived back at the mission control located inside the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles, engineers erupted in applause.
“I can’t believe this. This is unbelievable,” said an excited Allen Chen, who is the deputy head of the rover’s descent and landing team.
President Obama remarked calling the landing, “an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future. It proves that even the longest of odds are no match for our unique blend of ingenuity and determination.”
NASA engineer Bobak Ferdowsi aka “Mohawk Guy”
One of the engineers working on the project is mission Activity Lead Bobak Ferdowsi. As millions watched the live activities from NASA mission control, people began tweeting about the “guy in the mohawk.” Ferdowsi gets a new hairdo for every mission and this is the one voted on by the rest of the team.
His twitter account (@tweetsoutloud) received thousand of followers within hours. Taking it all in good nature, Ferdowsi tweeted, “Internet, you win this round. I’ll be back later, but thanks so much. Now going to celebrate with all my friends and team! #msl.”
It is only a matter of time before he begins the talk show rounds.
