It took 7 minutes for curiosity to land on Mars after years of preparation. For those seven minutes the entire world was glued to the success of the landing and this is only the beginning of the project. For the first time scientists have received panoramic snapshots of the scenery on the red planet. Many assumptions will be confirmed or trashed as the lab discovers the planet.

Imagine what it would be like to be part of a team sitting here on Earth and driving research vehicles out there on Mars. It would have seemed liked science fiction even a decade ago, but today its  reality that a scientists is driving a remote controlled car and orbiting the Gale Crater on Mars. That he is able to see snapshots and video of the bedrock layers that form the floor of the crater.

Curiosity Mission Manager Mike Watkins of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California has likened the capabilities and skills required to run the Curiosity project to brain surgery. He would not be far off the mark considering the laborious attention to detail and precision skills that come into play in both operations. It is a science project that many will talk about for days to come.