Just in case you want to get back in line for the jet-fueled roller-coaster ride that was Curiosity’s landing on Mars … we now have video!
Not yet 48 hours after NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory chronicled Curiosity’s descent to the Red Planet, we can watch the lo-fi video from the rover’s point of view.
Photo by NASA via Getty Images
As it fell toward the planet’s surface, Curiosity’s Mars Descent Imager, or MARDI, captured video of the landing sequence. The camera rocks back and forth as the probe sways underneath its supersonic parachute and shakes as the rocket engines fire. MARDI also has a high-resolution video of the landing, as well as video of the surrounding terrain, but it won’t be available until more data is received from the rover. Maybe it has something to do with the millions of miles that data has to travel.
Video by Jim Vestante.
