So who has been following the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission?

The rover, Curiosity, looks amazing. It's the size of a Mini Cooper, significantly larger than any previous rover.

It is powered by an radioisotope power generator, so it is not reliant on solar power.

There's a heap of resources here and you can follow on twitter for updates, @MarsCuriosity. Wikipedia article here.

The landing system is beyond cool, using a "sky-crane" maneuver, this is a good video, about the much hyped "seven minutes of terror"



Landing is scheduled for approximately 6 days and 7 hrs away at 0531 UTC August 6 (1731 NZT), and will be broadcast live on UStream and NASA TV.

So set a reminder for Monday afternoon, and here's hoping it all goes well!

Cheers,
Joseph