Are We There Yet?
How scientists and engineers handle a spacecraft’s months-long journey to Mars
In 2012, it took the Curiosity rover seven minutes to descend from the top of the Martian atmosphere down to the surface, slowing from a speed of 13,000 miles per hour to zero. It took double that for signals from the spacecraft to reach Earth. NASA scientists and engineers held their breath as these minutes passed, waiting to learn the fate of their spacecraft. (Curiosity turned out fine.)
This year, will again experience these “seven minutes of terror” when its newest Mars mission arrives at the planet in November. Unlike the Curiosity rover, the InSight lander—the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport—will spend its lifetime in one spot on
