Page 54 - Discover Fall 2021

Curiosity CONTINUED
minutes. The question would remain: in how
many pieces?
“We are now processing data from
Odyssey”, a voice crackled out of my
speakers. NASA technicians were reporting
from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory control
room in Pasadena.
“Parachute deployed,” another voice
intoned. Some minutes later, “We are
in powered flight.” Odyssey was now in
powered controlled descent. My bacon was
now in the pan.
The emotionless
voice continued
to relay telemetry
as it was
received. “40
meters altitude,
sky crane is
started…”
Brief, tentative
applause ensued.
“Descending at about .75 meters per
second, as expected… expecting final touch
shortly…”
The color began returning to my knuckles.
It hadn’t crashed… yet. If my part of the
payload was doing its job, the sky crane
would now gently deposit Curiosity on the
surface. Several incredibly long seconds
passed.
“Touch is good,” came the voice again.
“Touchdown confirmed.”
The control room at JPL exploded with
excited cheers and applause, as whooping
NASA engineers celebrated their success.
52 Discover Smith Mountain Lake FALL 2021
There was now more than a hint of
emotion in the hitherto passionless voice
from JPL. “Let’s see where curiosity will take
us!”
At 1:32 AM on August 6, 2012, I
witnessed the successful landing of Curiosity
on the surface of MARS. My part of
the mission had reached an enormously
successful conclusion.
Curiosity would embark upon its planned
23 month mission, taking samples and
photographs on the
surface, to determine
the potential for life on
this planet.
Now, some 9
years later, the Rover
continues to provide
valuable information
on its mission.
Fast forward to
February 18th, 2021…
another soft landing, employing the same
system, deposited the rover “Perseverance”
into Jezero Crater on Mars. Again, I watched
as the tension mounted, and all went
perfectly well.
Perseverance is tasked with searching
for signs of ancient life on Mars, and also
to collect soil and rock samples for possible
return to Earth. On board, the Mars
Helicopter has flown successfully in the thin
Martian atmosphere, yet another testament
to the technology of NASA scientists.