After eight long months explorer robot Curiosity has touched ground on Mars according to plans. Curiosity will now envistage if the planet once could have supported life, and help to plan for future manned expeditions.
NASA managed to land the rover Curiosity almost exactly in the landing zone inside crater Gale it was aiming for. Curiosity is twice as large as previous rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and weighs five times as much with its 900 kilogram. This made the land one of the most risky NASA has ever attempted since the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon, June 20th 1969.
One of the first pictures taken by Curiosity
Curiosity comes equipped with a large array of advanced instruments, much more so than any previous rover. The mission is to answer one of our biggest questions; Has Mars ever supported life and in that case, are there any traces of it preserved? Besides that the climate and geology of the planet will be studied, and more data will be collected to help plan future manned missions to Mars.
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