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Curiosity Rover Has Landed
Now this news may not be very recent, most of you have heard about the amazing journey Curiosity has taken over the past 9 months, but for those who have no idea what Curiosity is you are about to find out.
Back in November a rocket was launched holding a nearly 20 Billion dollar, car sized robot that would make its new home on a planet. This planet is Mars, the closest planet to our earth and also once believed to have liquid water and even possibly, life. The rover was outfitted with state of the art tools and equipment making it its own mobil laboratory.
Unlike the other rovers to go to mars (who are powered by solar power), curiosity is powered by a small nuclear reactor. This was because complications with the solar panels being damaged or dust collecting on their surfaces were a risk the team wasn't willing to take.
After a long 9 month journey through space the rover finally reached mars on the early morning of August 5th. The last seven minutes of the landing was the most nervracking as the team would have no idea if the rover made it or not. Fortunately it landed safely with no problems.
Here is a video of the landing procedure:
