These images would, under normal circumstances, appear to be dull and unassuming. That is until you realize that they are the first two pictures sent from NASA's Curiosity rover, which just landed on Mars about an hour and a half ago. MARS, bitches. Incredible is too weak of a word to describe the magnitude of this success: the completion of a 352 million mile journey with a landing that was so mind-bogglingly technical only a video from NASA could begin to do it justice:
Seven Minutes of Terror
With one window streaming the video from NASA's control room and another streaming a live simulation of the Curiosity's descent, I sat there with my eyes glued to my monitor as the nail-biting coverage unfolded. It's amazing how watching a room full of people and a computer simulation could have a far more exhilarating effect on me than any of the Olympic events I've witnessed this past week. It's simply more fun when I'm not just rooting for my country, but for humanity as a whole. And as the ping of Curiosity's successful landing reached the control room and everyone began cheering in celebration, I couldn't help but feel awesome for being part of a species capable of pulling off such a feat. Mankind, I am proud.
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