NASA has dubbed the dizzyingly complex landing of its new Mars rover "seven minutes of terror" — a sequence of pyrotechnics, ropes and a "backpack" of engines that must work in meticulous choreography to give the mission a shot. Because of the distance, the sequence will be over by the time engineers receive a message that it has begun; Curiosity will already be on the ground, either ready to deliver groundbreaking science, or lying in a $2.5-billion wreck.
0 comments:
Post a Comment