I don't know if you heard, but NASA landed an automobile-size plutonium-powered rover called "Curiosity" on Mars last night, and it was pretty darn awesome. And shortly after touchdown, Curiosity started beaming images back: After Safe Landing, Rover Sends Images From Mars.
Exciting. But perhaps even more amusing than the surface of Mars? The scene inside the NASA control room in Pasadena, where blue polo shirt-clad members of landing team waited in nervous anticipation, then exploded into a nerdy frenzy of congratulatory hugs and high fives.
How about some love for engineer Allen Chen? If you were watching the live stream, he was the guy giving the play-by-play at JPL, and called the successful touchdown. A graduate of MIT, he led the team responsible for landing the rover: MIT grad helps NASA land Curiosity rover on Mars.
And while we're giving credit, meet Clara Ma, the teen who won the essay contest three years ago that ultimately gave the Mars rover its name, "Curiosity." She was a special guest at JPL last night during the landing: Clara Ma, 15, Wins NASA Essay Contest To Name Mars Rover.
