JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Solar System .

Curiosity Rover: One Year on Mars

Aug 02, 2013
A look at the challenges and achievements of Curiosity's first year on Mars

Transcript:

(Music)

Adam Stelzner: That great things take many people working together to make them happen is one of the fantastic things of human existence.

Rob Manning: Not only we've driven the rover, we've moved its arm, put it all through its paces. But it's been in a thermal vacuum chamber, been kept very cold, parts of it have been in a centrifuge.

We've done drop tests, pull tests, drive tests, load tests, stress tests. Just amazing amount of testing this vehicle has gone through. We've tried every way of operating the vehicle using the software. Literally, thousands and thousands of hours of software testing. It's been just an amazing several years really of constant testing and development. Finding problems and fixing those problems and going on to the next problem. I think she's ready to go.

LC this is the LD on channel 1.
LC you have permission to launch
Roger, proceeding with the count

T-10, 9, 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1


(Engines roar)

Am I confident that she's going to go and she's going to be successful? Absolutely. It's gonna go and she'll be good.

We should have pressure deploy around Mach 1.7
Parachute has deployed
We are decelerating

(Applause)

Heat shield has separated we have found the ground Standing by for back shell separation We are on powered flight
We're at altitude of one kilometer descending
Standing by for skycrane
Skycrane has started
Touch down confirmed.
We're safe on Mars.

(Cheering)

Time to see where Curiosity will take us.

(Cheering)

Charles Elachi:
What a fantastic demonstration of what our nation and our agency can do. I could only think of the words of Teddy Roosevelt as I was sitting there. "It is far better to dare mighty things even though we might fail, than to stay in the twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." And the team brought us victory today.

Charles Bolden:
Today, right now, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. This is an amazing achievement.

John Holdren: Well, today on Mars history was made on Earth. The successful landing of Curiosity marks what is really an unprecedented technological tour de force. It will stand as an American point of pride far into the future.

Pete Theisinger : We've got a long mission ahead of us and because of that and the capabilities of this rover, we have this possibility for just monumental science accomplishments.

Michael Meyer Within two months the team found ancient riverbed, evidence of flowing water.

John Grotzinger:
We have found a habitable environment that is so benign and supportive of life that probably if this water was around and you had been on the planet, you would've been able to drink it.

Related Pages

News .

NASA’s Deep Space Network Welcomes a New Dish to the Family

News .

6 Things to Know About NASA’s Mars Helicopter on Its Way to Mars

News .

NASA to Host Virtual Briefing on February Perseverance Mars Rover Landing

News .

NASA InSight’s ‘Mole’ Ends Its Journey on Mars

News .

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover to Capture Sounds From the Red Planet

News .

NASA’s Juno Mission Expands Into the Future

Image .

Juno's Mission Goes On

Topic .

Solar System

News .

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Reaches Its 3,000th Day on Mars

News .

Celebrate the Perseverance Rover Landing With NASA's Student Challenge

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono