PASADENA, Calif.—Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is now feeling the tug of Mars, as are the scientists and engineers on the mission.
"We are rationally confident, emotionally terrified, and ready for EDL (entry, descent, and landing)," said Adam Steltzner, MSL's EDL phase lead.
In the final pre-landing conference before MSL reaches Mars early Monday morning at 1:31 a.m. EDT, mission scientists and engineers shared their closing
thoughts and expressed great confidence in a successful night ahead.
"I think we're going to stick the landing," said Doug McCuistion, the Mars Exploration Program director at NASA headquarters.
The spacecraft is now in EDL approach mode and will shortly transition over to EDL main mode. Its batteries are charged to 100 percent and it continues to
have strong communication with the Deep Space Network (DSN), "like having a full set of bars, in cell phone speak," explained Brian Portock, the MSL mission
manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The spacecraft is warming up its rockets to be used during EDL and this morning, the team determined the final opportunity to adjust the flight path was not
needed because it is right on target.
On Mars, the weather conditions are looking perfect for landing. There is a cap edge storm to the east of the landing spot in Gale Crater, but it does not
pose a major threat. "If this storm had happened three days ago, we might have been sweating a little bit," said Steltzner.
Though the team feels very confident, they were all careful to emphasize the possibility that tonight could be a "bad night."
"I believe that the team has done everything we can to deserve success tonight, although as we all know," said Steltzner, "there is nothing you can do to
ensure success." McCuistion added that it would be an incredible loss to the nation if NASA did not learn from a failure and try again.
The world tonight as MSL makes its entry into the Martian atmosphere. The team will also have no other choice but to sit back and snack on peanuts, a good
luck charm in the Mission Control room. "The amount of control the team has during EDL is identical to what someone at home watching on TV has," said
Steltzner.
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