At 12:20 a.m., after a jubilant press conference had been dismissed, after Will.i.am and Morgan Freeman had retreated to Hollywood, and after the pop-up gift shops had stopped selling Mars Science Lab-emblazoned polos, two men met on a staircase outside a blocky building at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. One man was leaving, dressed in the light blue shirt of the Entry, Descent, and Land...

Entry, Descent, and Landing is a stressful process for everyone, spiked with "seven minutes of terror" and its attendant grey hairs. But, enduring the tension as the head scientist of a tent-pole Mars mission is an entirely different experience. Steve Squyres, one of the 400+ scientists gathered to watch the landing Sunday night, knows the feeling. Squyres was the top scientist for the...

Entry, Descent, and Landing is a stressful process for everyone, spiked with "seven minutes of terror" and its attendant grey hairs. But, enduring the tension as the head scientist of a tent-pole Mars mission is an entirely different experience. Steve Squyres, one of the 400+ scientists gathered to watch the landing Sunday night, knows the feeling. Squyres was the top scientist for the...

These are very exciting times, especially being an intern with the Mars Public Engagement Team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Why you may ask? It's because of one simple word that nourishes our minds, drives us to question our world and others, and allows us to create the impossible: Curiosity. What I find absolutely inspirational about this mission is everything. From naming the rover, to...

I was working late last night helping to put the finishing touches on the many ways that we're sharing tonight's landing with the world, but I did pause for a moment as the countdown clock on my screen raced past the one day mark (yes, raced - I swear those seconds are coming off faster than they should). It now reads just over 12 hours, and it's really hit me--We're measuring the time until l...

I was working late last night helping to put the finishing touches on the many ways that we're sharing tonight's landing with the world, but I did pause for a moment as the countdown clock on my screen raced past the one day mark (yes, raced - I swear those seconds are coming off faster than they should). It now reads just over 12 hours, and it's really hit me--We're measuring the time until l...

The pre-landing frenzy is in full force down on the JPL mall, where countdown clocks tick away and a fountain provides dramatic percussion, like a constant Mission Impossible soundtrack. News outlets from around the world are setting up tripods, running sound checks, and marking their territory with masking tape on the concrete plaza. (Don't mess with those TV crews; they seem to be guardi...

We just passed a major milestone! We sent the commands to the rover to get the sequence started up. If we did nothing else the rover would probably land ok even now. We keep knocking on wood, everything is going so well. There is a lot of excitement in the air and we can see that enthusiasm from outside of Mars Science Laboratory project and outside of JPL and NASA is starting to build. My f...