Where were you when Curiosity landed? It’s a hot topic of
discussion in the hallways of JPL and on social media this week, as people
remember the dramatic, tension-filled landing of NASA’s Curiosity rover and its
Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT).
Millions of people around the world were glued to TV sets
and mobile devices during the white-knuckle landing. The man who led the team
that designed and tested the unprecedented sky-crane landing system, Adam
Steltzner of JPL, sums up public interest in Curiosity and its exploration this
way: “I think through it, we dream a little bigger, maybe aspire a little
higher and in some sense, we’re a little better—a teeny, eensy bit better.”