NASA Goddard Goes Wild As Mars Rover Lands

Wave after wave of cheering, clapping, laughter and euphoria hits NASA Goddard as Curiosity lands safely.

  Mars rover fans spilled over onto the floor and stood along the walls at NASA Goddard's Visitor Center to watch Curiosity descend toward the Red Planet Monday. Despite the hour, with a 1:31 a.m. EDT projected landing time, some 357 observers showed up. As the moment approached, a mental tug of war played out among Goddard staff and friends as the worst of fears met with the best of hopes. Word from NASA was it would take hundreds of things going just right for the landing to be successful .  "If any one thing doesn't work just right, it's game over," Tom Rivellini NASA EDL engineer, had warned. "I'm so nervous," said intern Rachel Kronyak, an undergraduate at Penn State. Before her on a large screen, a live feed of the landing played …

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Bailey's Blog

No Room Left at Goddard to Watch Mars Rover Curiosity Land

Watching Curiosity touch down with Goddard folks is a hot ticket item—with no tickets left. But here's how you can still catch its rendezvous with the Red Planet live.

  There is no room left at NASA's Goddard's Visitor Center in Greenbelt, MD, from midnight to 3:30 a.m. Monday for visitors who want to watch Curiosity touch down on the Red Planet. But you have several alternative options for watching. They may not be the Seaton Norman way, but you can still watch history as it happens. And you can also prepare yourself for what you are going to see—by watching William Shatner explain the Mars rover Curiosity's mission and the "seven minutes of terror" it will endure as it goes from 13,000 mph to a soft landing. Yes, that's Shatner as in Capt. James Tiberius Kirk himself. He's in a NASA video with some very cool animations. Once you watch and get your Star Trek NASA Goddard Mars rover dilithium crystal …

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