NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Pics Now in HD

Impact

The Curiosity Rover is now on Mars. All sorts of photos are now being released of the surface of Mars. One of the most interesting was a new HD video shot from the rover as it was landing. NASA also isolated a second video of the heat shield hitting Mars. Check out some of the best videos I found and some of the sources where you can follow the Curiosity, Mars Science Lab mission.  

Landing a car-sized vehicle on Mars had not been accomplished in the history of mankind. Watching this moment I feel a little like I'm watching Columbus take his first step onto the American continent.  (Funny thing is, that was a total mess. They were seeking faster spice routes to India.) 

You can now watch HD video from the Mars Descent Imager as the rover approaches the ground.  

New video explains the exact landing process with voice-over explaining the landing. Animated video shares a split screen with the real video shot from the bottom of the lander while it dropped out of the Martian sky.

There's nothing like watching a $2.3 billion science lab land on another planet dangling from ropes held up by a rocket propelled sky crane.

Check out the view of the heat shield landing on Mars. One day when people walk on the planet that heat shield will be sitting in that exact spot.

NASA released another video of people all over the country watching the landing. This includes video of the team, the original animated shots, and some of the real video from the landing mixed together.  Side-by-side shots allow you to see real video next to the animated clips.  

The excitement captured in those videos is what I was describing in my previous article about my experience watching the Mars landing from NASA Headquarters in DC.

New photos and videos are being posted constantly via twitter. Follow: @MarsCuriosity to receive the tweets.  

Complete mission coverage can be found on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) webpage.

It took ten years. Thousands of problems had to be solved. Now NASA has begun to beam photos and science back to planet Earth.