Mars rover landing "miracle of engineering," scientists say

[AdminOnline]

(Reuters) - NASA scientists hailed the Mars rover Curiosity's flawless descent and landing as a "miracle of engineering" on Monday as they scanned early images of an ancient crater that may hold clues about whether life took hold on Earth's planetary cousin.

The one-ton, six-wheeled laboratory nailed an intricate and risky touchdown late on Sunday, much to the relief and joy of scientists and engineers eager to conduct NASA's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s Viking probes.

"We trained ourselves for eight years to think the worst all the time," Curiosity lead engineer Miguel San Martin said. "You can never turn that off."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-usa-mars-idUSBRE8721A920120806?feedType=RSS&feedName=wtMost Read&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_cam paign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FMostRead+%28News+%2F+US+%2 F+Most+Read+Articles%29

[thiudiskr]

I'm really interested in learning about the historical geology of Mars. Do not particularly care if there was ever life there or not.

[KingZ]

No, it's not a miracle of engineering, and LA you should be ashamed of yourself for repeating this garbage.

Those people went to school and studied for insane amounts of time, and dedicated their lives to this. It's not a miracle.