Curiosity is Down and Safe!

If you're interested in robotic space exploration, you probably already know: the Curiosity rover is on the surface of Mars, where it's supposed to be, safe and sound.  The science mission is about to begin!

The photo at right is the first medium resolution (512 x 512) image returned.  It's from one of the hazard avoidance cameras after its dust cover had been sprung open.  Curiosity is festooned with cameras, taking advantage of modern electronic imaging technology.

I'm not sure about the science mission timeline.  Ordinarily when a lander first touches down, there are hours to days of preparation before the lander's science mission is fully ready to go.  Much of this is because the lander is generally all “folded up” for the cruise and descent stages of the mission, and the controllers have to “unpack” it all.  I'm not sure how much of that is true for Curiosity – not only did it have a radically different descent phase, it's also got a much smarter on-board control system.  Things could be different this time around.

I stayed up late last night to watch the streaming feed from the JPL flight control center.  It was pure pandemonium there after confirmation of safe touchdown – and who can blame them?  I felt like committing a little pandemonium myself :-)