MARS ROVER LANDING ARRIVES IN TIMES SQUARE
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanNew Yorkers, tonight is your night!
The Mars Rover Curiosity landing on the Red Planet will make history in Times Square as it is broadcast live on the giant Toshiba LED Television screen that hangs right below the world-famous New Year’s Eve Ball amidst the crowds in Times Square.
But best to get your sleep during the day today as the coverage begins at 11:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday evening and runs until 4:00 a.m. EDT Monday morning. The landing itself is scheduled for 1:31 a.m. EDT on Monday, although it will be late Monday night at the Rover’s California-based mission control room.
This is a historic time for the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory Mission Landing. The big question of the mission is the infinite question of whether life and/or water has existed on Mars. The next question is to determine if Mars will ever be able to support microbial life. This is not a simple touchdown as it requires a hovering rocket-powered “Sky Crane” that will lower the vehicle to Mars’ surface via tethers. If everything goes as planned, viewers will be able to see scientists receive the first signals from the Rover on Mars. The audio track of the broadcast will be carried on the online radio station Third Rock Radio accessed from NASA homepage at and through the Tuneln mobile application.
This will be a nail-biting experience to make sure that the landing is victorious. This is so much riding on the landing. The funding for NASA’s Planetary Science Program has been drastically cut for 2013 with even more cuts expected in future years. The agency must determine how to make the best use of the allocated funding for its Mars program. If this landing and mission are overwhelmingly successful, it could bring about a more open outlook from politicians and Washington officials and be very beneficial with positive possibilities on the funding forefront.
The landing could become the most important event in the history of planetary exploration according to Doug McCuistion, director of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program.
Another idea still in the minds of scientists is exploring Jupiter’s Moon Europa, harboring a liquid-water ocean beneath its icy shell. Additional space exploration could become a reality with the exact winning combination of minds and money working together.
If you cannot be in Times Square this evening, other sites around the country will also be hosting live viewing of the landing. For a complete listing, go to NASA. See the map below of all the various locations.
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