OTD In Space – August 6: Curiosity Rover Lands On Mars
On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface.
Curiosity is NASA's biggest and most ambitious Mars rover ever launched. Its landing involved a new kind of maneuver that had never been tried before using something called a "sky crane." Like previous rovers that have landed on Mars, Curiosity used a parachute and rocket engines to slow down. But while other rovers used airbags to cushion the last part of the fall, Curiosity's rocket-propelled sky crane hovered over the ground and gently lowered it with cables.
Curiosity is NASA's biggest and most ambitious Mars rover ever launched. Its landing involved a new kind of maneuver that had never been tried before using something called a "sky crane." Like previous rovers that have landed on Mars, Curiosity used a parachute and rocket engines to slow down. But while other rovers used airbags to cushion the last part of the fall, Curiosity's rocket-propelled sky crane hovered over the ground and gently lowered it with cables.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:04In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface.
00:08Curiosity is NASA's biggest and most ambitious Mars rover ever launched.
00:12Its landing involved a new kind of maneuver that had never been tried before
00:16using something called a sky crane.
00:20Like previous rovers that have landed on Mars, Curiosity used a parachute and rocket engines to slow down.
00:24But while other rovers used airbags to cushion the last part of the fall,
00:28Curiosity's rocket-propelled sky crane hovered over the ground and gently lowered it with cables.
00:32And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:36Music
00:40Music