Curiosity’s Mission So Far – In Timelapse

One of the best things about the Curiosity mission is that the folks at JPL make all (and I mean every single last one) of the raw images available to the public to download and play around with. Indeed, this is what a lot of space bloggers have been doing like Emily Lakdawalla and @mars-stu‘s Gale Gazette (both are essential reading). I noticed however that a timelapse had yet to be done.

So, on my day off the other day with nothing much to do, thanks to the rain, I spent a few hours downloading every single (or the majority of) images from Curiosity’s left navigation camera. Slap em together at 6 frames per second, add some music and this is what you get…enjoy.

I am also working on a front hazard camera timelapse, but you will need to wait for more photos to be taken as there haven’t been as many yet. Stay tuned.

Related articles

• Curiosity Rover Touches 1st Martian Rock, Makes Longest Drive Yet (space.com)
• NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Will Now Be Able To Take On-The-Go Photos (planetsave.com)
• HiRISE’s best view of Curiosity yet (planetary.org)
• Mars Rover Curiosity Has First Target in Sight (news.discovery.com)

The Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven Minutes of Terror

It’s a little over a month until NASA’s new Mars rover, Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory), lands on the surface of Mars (Anticipated landing time is 0531 GMT, 0631BST on the 6th August – subject to refinement).

The hardest part of this mission? Entry, Descent and Landing. Curiosity will hit the Martian atmosphere at a little over 13,000mph and it’s got to get to 0mph…in 7 minutes. This fantastic video shows you the difficulties that will be faced and the technology designed to overcome it. Trust me, you’ll be impressed!

I’m thankfully on a day off on the said date, and will be getting up early to follow the EDL’s progress and the first pictures that come through. I think the hashtag #MarsCuriosity will be used on Twitter. So join in!

Related articles

• The Secrets of Gale Crater: Why Curiosity Isn’t Looking for Life (orbitaleccentricity.wordpress.com)
• NASA Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site (spacefellowship.com)
• For NASA’s Mars rover, the stakes are high (mnn.com)
• NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter out of Safe Mode and back to Full Service (clarksvilleonline.com)