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How to Watch NASA's Curiosity Rover Land on the Surface of Mars Tonight (Live Online)

Jul 30, 2012 10:30 PM

Aug 5, 2012 07:10 PM

Mars rover conducting research on the Martian surface.

NASA will be attempting to land the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars tonight, and you can watch it live.

Mars rover being delivered to the Martian surface by a landing system.

Curiosity (the Mars Science Laboratory) was launched almost a year ago on November 26, 2011, and will be finishing its 354 million mile journey to the red planet tonight (Sunday, August 5th) at around 8:30pm PST. The craft will be deploying a supersonic parachute to slow itself, as it will be traveling at upwards of 1,000 mph.

Diagram illustrating the process of Mars rover landing and surface operations, including key stages and equipment.

Image Credit nasa.gov

The show's not over though, as the first images from the surface of Mars will also be shared live, sometime between 12:30am and 1:00am on August 6. That is assuming all goes according to plan and the rover successfully lands of course.

There are two ways to watch this historic event. The NASAJPL2 Ustream will broadcast uninterrupted footage with the mission audio. The NASAJPL Ustream will broadcast with commentary and interviews.

Curiosity rover landing countdown timer.

Until then, you can learn more and watch the countdown at GetCurious.com.

UPDATE: You can also watch the live landing footage directly from your Xbox 360. Just make sure to download the mars rover live app on your console.

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