Granted I am a bit biased since I contract to them; but this past weekend NASA pulled off a technological marvel by landing a one ton rover on the surface of Mars.
Now we have orbited the planet (still do), crashed into it and bounced on to it. Never have we had a controlled descent and sky craned a package to the ground. This is really HUGE. :shock:
There were so many things that could go wrong and believe me NASA has had their fair share of run-ins with Murphy's Law. Nonetheless, the talented American men and women of NASA pulled off something that many a country has tried to do and failed magnificently at.
After laboring 7 1/2 years just to get this puppy to the launch phase; experiencing their 7 minutes of terror on entry and landing, they still have to make it through systems checkout on the ground with hopefully everything still working. But all things considered; this is really a proud moment for the United States.
Tip of the hat to the NASA folks!
Now we have orbited the planet (still do), crashed into it and bounced on to it. Never have we had a controlled descent and sky craned a package to the ground. This is really HUGE. :shock:
There were so many things that could go wrong and believe me NASA has had their fair share of run-ins with Murphy's Law. Nonetheless, the talented American men and women of NASA pulled off something that many a country has tried to do and failed magnificently at.
After laboring 7 1/2 years just to get this puppy to the launch phase; experiencing their 7 minutes of terror on entry and landing, they still have to make it through systems checkout on the ground with hopefully everything still working. But all things considered; this is really a proud moment for the United States.
Tip of the hat to the NASA folks!