{"id":8669,"date":"2012-08-03T10:01:19","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T20:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=8669"},"modified":"2021-03-19T14:06:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T00:06:08","slug":"uh-manoa-holds-mars-rover-landing-viewing-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2012\/08\/03\/uh-manoa-holds-mars-rover-landing-viewing-event\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa holds Mars rover landing viewing event"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>
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The Curiosity<\/em> Mars rover (picture courtesy of NASA\/JPL-Caltech)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Join scientists from the University of UH<\/abbr> at Mānoa’s Institute for Astronomy<\/a> and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Geophysics and Planetology<\/a> as they watch and discuss the landing of the NASA<\/abbr> rover Curiosity<\/em> on Mars on Sunday, August 5, 6 p.m. at the Institute for Astronomy.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> Mānoa scientists will be watching NASA<\/abbr> TV<\/abbr>’s live feed of the event. The Curiosity<\/em> rover is expected to land inside Gale Crater at approximately 7:30 p.m. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> time. <\/p>\n

Curiosity<\/em>’s “seven minutes of terror”<\/h2>\n

Curiosity is NASA<\/abbr>’s most advanced planetary rover and getting it to the surface of Mars will not be easy. The landing has been described as “seven minutes of terror.” The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft carrying Curiosity<\/em> must decelerate from approximately 13,200 miles per hour to a safe 1.7 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

To land the one-ton rover NASA<\/abbr> will use a “sky crane” method during the final several seconds of the flight. A backpack with retro-rockets controlling descent speed will lower the rover on three nylon cords just before touchdown.<\/p>\n

As part of its two year mission, Curiosity<\/em> will investigate whether an area with a wet history inside the Gale Crater ever has offered an environment favorable for microbial life.<\/p>\n

Read more about Curiosity<\/em> and its mission on NASA<\/abbr>’s website<\/a><\/p>\n

View a NASA<\/abbr> video that explains why mission planners called Curiosity<\/em>’s descent “the seven minutes of terror.”<\/p>\n