Liveblog Mars Rover Curiosity is landing on Mars now

ten to eleven minutes to landing

the objective is to find out whether life once existed on Mars.  

Let me qualify that: life as we understand it.

we box it into our definition of life. Not making allowances that there might be forms of life not perceptible to our senses and instruments.  But how else are we to measure objects around us…?  none of it  there, looking for traces, looking for some history…out of curiosity…but not just…i’m blabbering.

six minutes before we get any signals from Curiosity. …..

acquired radar signals. means close to surface of Mars….

signal still strong.

….thrusters fired….

5.9 meters away

…..touchdown!

…. hugging and clapping from the NASA mission control scientists

…data from the surface of Mars coming in. Images. Photos. Grey-grainy

… a photo came in. it looks like a round grey dish..more clapping and hugging. they worked on this for ten years.

… resource person says it’s a 64 by 64 pixel image. ….NASA mission control scientists and staff hugging each other… more photos. clapping from the scientists.

… i think Curiosity took a photo of itself, of its landing gear on the surface of Mars.

… the wheel of the Rover on Mars. Scientists overjoyed.

… Curiosity wasn’t shattered. Their computations correct.

        credits: live beam CNN