Tonight: Mars rover take 2 [updated]

Late tonight we’ll be landing the second half of the latest Mars mission onto the red planet. At about 12:05AM, Opportunity will be landing in an area called Meridiani Planum that we believe was once covered with water. Check NASA TV for updates.

Also, for those following the Spirit software glitch, the rover sent some 73 megabits of data back to Earth yesterday. A good sign.

If you want to follow things like a true geek, check out Mars24. It will give you the time (and daylight!) on Mars.

Update: Wow, that was something. I listened to the play-by-play on NASA TV. They were so excited, I can only imagine what it would feel like being there (mission control, not Mars). The landing was another success.

On impact, the system only recorded 2 G’s, which is nearly a miracle. It is rated for 40 G’s (meaning 40 x the pull of gravity). If the ship was a car, the bumper would have taken the impact without setting off the air bags.

The landing site looks amazing. Much different from other sites, not nearly as rocky. It has dunes and exposed bedrock. In the word’s of Dr. Steve Squyres, “I’m flabbergasted. I’m astonished. I’m blown away.”