NASA is just a little over 2 days away from attempting to land its most sophisticated space exploration robot ever, the nuclear-powered Mars Curiosity Rover, on the surface of the Red Planet. The success of the landing is anything but predetermined, as NASA must attempt a process it’s never tried before, slowing the craft from 13,000 miles to zero in less than 7 minutes, using a sky-crane and other contraptions.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=96563