MARS SEEMS TO HATE HUMAN
EXPLORATION...
BUT HUMANS ARE BACK ON MARS
WITH 30 PERCENT MISSION SUCCESS RATE
On Saturday night, January 3, 2004, the Mission Support Area (otherwise known
as "mission control") at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA was filled, with
every seat at every station occupied by members of the Mars Exploration Rover
team. Everyone was holding a collective breath in anticipation of a safe landing
of SPIRIT ROVERS on MARS after traveling .
The SPIRIT ROVERS were sent from earth to
mars on June 10 and July 7 2003 and has traveled over 300 million miles from
earth to the landing on Mars.
The landing of the twin SPIRIT ROVERS on
Mars was full of heart stopping suspense... That's especially true since many
describe the challenges of entry into the Martian atmosphere, rapid descent, and
landing on the surface as "six minutes of terror:
For six minutes of entry, decent, and landing, during which it must
reduce its speed from 12,000 miles per hour to almost zero, Spirit is on its
own. The hard work of scientists and engineers over more than three years has
led up to this nail-biting moment. Like coaches watching a star athlete
perform, they must let go and wait as the lander does what it was born to do:
deposit the rover named Spirit safely on the surface of Mars.
For full details on the spectacular achievement of the mankind at NASA please
visit the
NASA MARS EXPLORATION M2K4 web site by
clicking on the preceding red hilite...The first pictures of Mars by the twin
SPIRIT ROVERS were sent within an hour of
landing and more pictures and geological information will be sent back to earth
in the next 90 days of MISSION ON MARS......
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