:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 1.04.2004 ::

" ... explosive space modulator"

NASA Rover Touches Down on Mars
January 4, 2004 12:32 AM EST

PASADENA, Calif. - A NASA rover plunged through the atmosphere of Mars and bounced down upon its rocky surface Saturday night, beginning a mission to roam the Red Planet in search of evidence that it was once suitable for life.

Radio signals received on Earth minutes after the landing suggested the Spirit rover survived, prompting mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to let out whoops of delight.

It still was not immediately known if the Spirit rover would operate as planned. It is one of two-identical six-wheeled robots expected to roam the planet for 90 days, analyzing Martian rocks and soil for clues that could reveal whether the planet was ever a warmer, wetter place capable of sustaining life.

The rover relied on a heat shield, parachute and rockets to slow its descent to Mars. Eight seconds before landing, a giant set of air bags inflated to cushion its bouncy landing.

It was not immediately clear if the air bags sufficiently protected the rover, enclosed inside a four-petaled lander, from the jarring landing.

But up until the landing everything was proceeding flawlessly, with Spirit appearing on track to make a "bull's-eye" landing within a cigar-shaped ellipse inside Gusev Crater, a Connecticut-sized indentation just south of the Martian equator, navigation team chief Louis D'Amario said.

"This is essentially perfect navigation. We couldn't have possibly hoped to do better than this," D'Amario said.

posted by me

:: 12:23:00 AM [+] ::
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