After much nail biting and breath holding, the Curiosity Rover is safe and sound on Mars!

Even though a Mars Rover seemingly has little to do with NEOs or Planetary Defense, the concept of robotic exploration is applicable in almost every exploratory situation. Here at the Society for Planetary Defense, we view the success of Curiosity as a step forward for robotic exploration.

Curiosity, within minutes of landing, was able to provide absolutely stunning and clear images of the planet’s surface, giving everyone who was watching a great reason to continue believing in our space program.

With the success of this landing, we hope that people understand how valuable our space program is and how valuable a STEM career can be.

A sincere congratulations to NASA and the entire team who made Curiosity’s landing and future endeavors possible.

Cover Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)