Blog Archive

Curiosity artist's concept EDL 20 parachute descent

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/04 01:17 CDT | 1 comments

I just came out of a press briefing at JPL, on the morning of the day before Curiosity's landing. The panel seemed fairly calm -- anxious, certainly, but the happy kind of anxiety that precedes something that could be great.

This photo of Mars was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on May 9, 2003. Processed by Ted Stryk.

Mars24 has been upgraded for Curiosity

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/03 10:46 CDT

Robert Schmunk has released a new version of the Mars24 application to help us tell time at Curiosity's landing site.

What's up in the Solar System in August 2012

Posted by Jason Davis on 2012/08/03 06:03 CDT

Welcome to the monthly roundup of our solar system's envoy of electronic explorers! All eyes are on Curiosity as it approaches Mars this weekend. Who will lend support at the Red Planet?

Curiosity photo face by Emily Lakdawalla

Video: This is not the droid you're looking for

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/02 10:26 CDT

Just to break the tension in advance of Curiosity's landing, a little humor from UnmannedSpaceflight.com's Astro0.

Videos: Where are Curiosity's science instruments and how do they work?

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/08/01 12:51 CDT | 2 comments

Mat Kaplan and I recently recorded a couple of videos giving a tour of the science instruments on the Curiosity Mars rover.

Press briefing schedule for Curiosity (assuming a nominal landing)

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/30 07:53 CDT | 4 comments

JPL has published a schedule for press briefings in the first week of Curiosity's mission on Mars.

Celebrate Curiosity with a “Party on Mars!” Saturday night!

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/30 08:16 CDT | 1 comments

Join me and Bill Nye to blow off some steam on Saturday night as we anticipate Curiosity’s landing! In the spirit of such nerdtacular gatherings as W00tstock and LeetUp, we’re having a big party at the Paseo Colorado here in Pasadena to celebrate Curiosity!

When will we see Curiosity's first images?

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/23 03:37 CDT | 5 comments

Enough people have asked me when we'll see Curiosity's first images from the surface of Mars that I sought out an answer. The short version: it depends.

Test image from Curiosity MARDI containing Ken Edgett

Curiosity's seventeenth camera: MARDI

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/20 02:21 CDT | 4 comments

Curiosity is equipped with seventeen cameras. One of them, the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) will capture a movie as the rover descends to the surface.

Curiosity artist's concept EDL 50 touchdown

Got questions about Curiosity? I've got answers for you

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/19 02:35 CDT | 18 comments

Whether you are a scientist or a layman, if you have ever asked yourself any question about Curiosity, I strongly suggest that you read the newly published press kit!

A plea to Mars Science Laboratory team members: write your experiences down

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/17 10:04 CDT | 2 comments

In which I beg the people working on Curiosity to write about what happens in the coming weeks, even if you never share those writings publicly.

How Curiosity Will Land on Mars, Part 3: Skycrane and landing

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/07/06 07:01 CDT | 6 comments

The final phase of Curiosity's landing on Mars involves the "skycrane maneuver" and will leave the rover on its wheels ready for its mission on Mars to begin.

Curiosity landing: Powered descent phase

How Curiosity Will Land on Mars, Part 2: Descent
staff-blog-post

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/06/29 07:04 CDT | 6 comments

When people first hear about how Curiosity will land on Mars, their first question always is: are they nuts? This is the second in a multi-part series describing how -- and why -- Curiosity will land this way, in excruciating detail.

How Curiosity Will Land on Mars, Part 1: Entry

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/06/22 07:19 CDT | 14 comments

When people first hear about how Curiosity will land on Mars, their first question always is: are they nuts? This is the first in a multi-part series describing how -- and why -- Curiosity will land this way, in excruciating detail.

Curiosity artist's concept EDL 40 skycrane

Cosmoquest Science Hangout Wednesday June 20 2300 UTC: Ravi Prakash, Curiosity engineer

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/06/18 05:32 CDT | 1 comments

This Cosmoquest Science Hangout featured Ravi Prakash, Curiosity Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems Engineer. He explained how Curiosity will land on Mars, and why they've changed things since Spirit and Opportunity landed.

Curiosity's shrinking landing ellipse

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/06/11 12:32 CDT | 6 comments

There was good news and bad news in this morning's press briefing about Curiosity rover's upcoming landing on Mars, just eight weeks from now. First, the good news: the landing ellipse has shrunk. The bad news: there's a contamination problem with the drill, and the Odyssey orbiter is in safe mode.

Build your own papercraft Curiosity rover

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/06/08 02:01 CDT | 1 comments

Glen Nagle pointed me to two awesome papercraft models of the Curiosity rover that you can download and -- assuming you have a LOT of patience and a steady hand -- assemble.

Rovers in the desert

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/05/14 03:02 CDT | 5 comments

I took a field trip to watch scientists and engineers play in the sand with Mars rover models, and got a bonus tour of some evidence for the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis.

A Tale of Two Martians

Posted by Jim Bell on 2012/01/09 11:15 CST

It's the best of times for Mars exploration because we've got three orbiters and a rover studying the Red Planet. It's also the worst of times for my Russian, European, and Chinese colleagues who were part of the Phobos-Grunt mission.