Scene of a Martian Landing
The four main pieces of hardware that arrived on Mars with NASA's Curiosity rover were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image about 24 hours after landing. The large, reduced-scale image points out the strewn hardware: the heat shield was the first piece to hit the ground, followed by the back shell attached to the parachute, then the rover itself touched down and finally, after cables were cut, the sky crane flew away to the northwest and crashed. Relatively dark areas in all four spots are from disturbances of the bright dust on Mars, revealing the darker material below the surface dust.

Around the rover, this disturbance was from the sky crane thrusters, and forms a bilaterally symmetrical pattern. The darkened radial jets from the sky crane are downrange from the point of oblique impact, much like the oblique impacts of asteroids. In fact, they make an arrow pointing to Curiosity.

This image was acquired from a special 41-degree roll of MRO, larger than the normal 30-degree limit. It rolled towards the west and towards the sun, which increases visible scattering by atmospheric dust as well as the amount of atmosphere the orbiter has to look through, thereby reducing the contrast of surface features. Future images will show the hardware in greater detail. Our view is tilted about 45 degrees from the surface (more than the 41-degree roll due to planetary curvature), like a view out of an airplane window. Tilt the images 90 degrees clockwise to see the surface better from this perspective. The views are primarily of the shadowed side of the rover and other objects. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona.

Well this has been along coming & will be my last for a bit... untill Celebration CVI rolls around anyway... lmao!

This fellow needs no introduction but I will say, he's real & he's spectacular! Messa one happy camper! 

Curiosity's shadow!   

OMFG!   They did it! 

Congratulations to NASA & all those involed with the landing of Curiosity on Mars, truely NASA's finest hour in space-age technology since landing a man on the moon! KUDO'S!

0431 GMT (12:31 a.m. EDT)
One hour, just 60 minutes from Curiosity touching down on Mars! The rover currently is 9,446 miles from the planet, closing at 9,572 mph.
At the landing time, it will be mid-afternoon -- around 3 p.m. local -- in Gale Crater. It is late winter there in the southern hemisphere, about two thirds of the way from winter solstice to spring equinox.

Then again...

Lasers, Cameras and Particle Detectors: Mars Rover’s Super High-Tech Science Gear

From the moment the rover hits the Martian atmosphere it will start taking data. Studded in 14 locations around the probe’s heat shield are devices known as the Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing Instrument (MEDLI). This equipment will provide information about Mars’ atmosphere and the dynamics of the rover’s descent, analyzing Curiosity’s trip to the surface and providing information helpful in designing future Mars missions.

Additionally, a special camera, the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) will be watching the view as the ground rushes up at Curiosity. By taking high-resolution color video during the probe’s landing sequence, MARDI will provide an overview of the landscape during descent and allow geologists back on Earth to determine exactly where Curiosity lands.

Curiosity has plenty of eyes to take in the view on the ground. Perched atop its head is the MastCam, two cameras capable of taking color images and video, as well as stitching pictures together into larger panoramas. One of these two cameras has a high-resolution lens, allowing Curiosity to study the distant landscape in detail.

Ahem!  Live coverage will be broadcast!     

The space agency will begin its live coverage Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET.

NASA TV Channel

Spaceflight Mission Status Center

Curiosity Cam, Ustream.TV

Video explanation of the 7 Minutes of Terror

The arrival of the Curiosity rover on Mars may well be the biggest, boldest extraterrestrial landing for NASA since Apollo 11 settled down on the moon on a summer's night in 1969.

This will be NASA's finest hour in space-age technology! God Speed Curiosity!