Space in My Face

Curiosity Touchdown Confirmed

I had a wonderful experience last night, watching live coverage of NASA’s rover Curiosity as it attempted quite an ingenious, yet hazardous landing in Mars’ Gale Crater. It wasn’t the first time the U.S. has sent a rover to Mars, but it was the first time I got to watch it happen live with streaming video coming from NASA control.

First Curiosity Images from Mars

It was the first time I’ve watched a live landing in space on a surface that wasn’t the Earth’s, since I watched the first moon landing live on my 13-inch portable black and white television set.

Neil Armstrong, 1969

That was on July 20, 1969, as I was sitting in my apartment living room at 8:18 p.m. Greenwich, which translates to 12:18 p.m. in Los Angeles, California. Six hours later, I watched Neil Armstrong take the first human steps on the moon.

Now, THAT was exciting. But the pictures were in black and white, jumpy and blurry, and with harsh contrast. Last night’s images were amazing, a tribute to the advances in electronics and telemetry throughout the years.

Mars rover Curiosity

I have to say I was glued to my computer this time. It was pretty tense, to say the least.

Hope you got to see it; if not, there’s a recap on cable’s Science Channel at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight – Mars Landing 2012: The New Search for Life. Then, on Thursday, Aug. 9, watch for Martian Mega Rover, another chronicle of the Mars journey.

It was space in my face.