Artist's concept of NASA's Curiosity rover touching down onto the Martian surface.
Artist's concept illustrating the moment that NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface. In this scene, Curiosity is touching down onto the surface, suspended on a bridle beneath the spacecraft's descent stage as that stage controls the rate of descent with four of its eight throttle-controllable rocket engines. The rover is connected to the descent stage by three nylon tethers and by an umbilical providing a power and communication connection. When touchdown is detected, the bridle will be cut at the rover end, and the descent stage flies off to stay clear of the landing site.
Size: 5601px × 3150px
Photo credit: © Stocktrek Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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