Seven Curious Minutes of Horror

NASA has done it again: they've sent another Mars Rover to the crimson surface of Mars. Another Rover. To Mars. In search for habitable conditions for future human expeditions. Oh my god! The crazy space buff that I am, I just had to blog about it.

Sized at roughly the shape and build of a fairly large SUV, this new Rover, aptly named Curiosity, gets the enviable right to romp about the dusty terrain of the red planet, free to trample over what it likes, free to endlessly whirr about in circles and free to gaze up the Earth and moon. It's mind boggling. But what really takes the cake has got to be the completely self-intuitive, on board computer based, automatic landing system which activates itself once Curiosity penetrates the Mars atmosphere...and lands on its own. 

All right. So maybe I might be the only one holding my breath during the seven minutes the Rover remains out of radio contact while landing. Quite understandable. But the larger implications of this expedition are large enough to even make the most science detesting, wiry-haired and mentally unstable recluse put down his or her book about The Reasons Behind Suicide or something equally sinister, and rub their eyes in shock. Human expeditions to Mars. Hooray. More food for thought.