7 Minutes of Terror: The Challenges of Getting to Mars

Reminds of the "Seven Minutes of Terror" video that NASA put out ahead of the Curiosity landing explaining how they intended to make it safely to the surface. [VIDEO] (Note: I get goosebumps every time I watch this, absolutely amazing problem solving.)

If you have not watched the seven minutes of terror video produced by NASA, you absolutely must. It details exactly how they put these amazing machines on the surface of Mars. [VIDEO]

> I still haven't seen any case for visual programming. Aerodef, automotive, etc all use some form of visual programming. Controls engineers rarely write code, the systems are way too complex. E.g. I highly recommend watching this video from JPL to give you an understanding of where such tools excel. It's about simulating, iterating and then having scientists and engineers autogenerate the code they couldn't possibly write or test [VIDEO]

Curiosity used aerobraking, parachutes AND a skycrane to land. There's a great video here: [VIDEO] Previous solutions weren't used because they were less crazy, but because they were more mass efficient for "small" payload sizes.

JPL produced a video titled "7 minutes of terror" that detailed the landing procedure they used for Curiosity, and it's worth a watch. It goes into detail on everything you see in the articles landing video: [VIDEO]

Surprisingly the wheels only weigh a few pounds each! (I still can't think in metric and I don't have a real number.) They were primarily constrained by packing volume during cruise ( [LINK] ) and then by shock loads as the securing pyrobolts blew during landing ( [VIDEO] ).

There's a video showing the JWST deployment sequence. It's set to calm orchestral music, and the visuals are just 3D renters of the spacecraft. [LINK] This video makes me far more nervous than "7 Minutes of Terror", depicting Curiosity's entry/descent/landing sequence. Far more things have to go right in order for JWST to become operational. [VIDEO]

Yup. The robotic program has a very good track record of successes, even for crazy stuff like the Mars Science Laboratory’s sky crane descent stage: [VIDEO] It’s the human spaceflight program that has had the, um, difficulties. There are signs of hope, though.