* Astronomy

Whether they be large or small, on the evening of August 5th (Pacific time), all 76 pyrotechnic devices must work on cue as NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, carried by the Mars Science Laboratory, streaks through the Red Planet's atmosphere on its way to a landing at Gale Crater.
Controlled explosions are a valuable tool to those who explore beyond Earth's atmosphere because they are quick and reliable.
Seventeen minutes before landing, the first 10 of 76 pyros will fire within five milliseconds of each other, releasing the cruise stage that provided the entry capsule (and its cocooned descent vehicle and the Curiosity rover) with power, communications and thermal control support during its 254-day journey to Mars.
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Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity's Seven Minutes of Terror

Team members share the challenges of Curiosity's final minutes to landing on the surface of Mars.

NASA Hosts Teleconference About Rover En Route To Mars Landing

NASA will host a media teleconference at noon EDT, June 11, to provide a status update on the Aug. 5, 2012, landing of the most advanced rover ever to be sent to Mars.
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En route to the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has experienced the strongest solar radiation storm since 2005. No need to be alarmed: Researchers say it's all part of Curiosity's job as a 'stunt double' for human astronauts.

On Jan. 27th, 2012, Curiosity's spacecraft was hit by the most intense solar radiation storm since 2005.   The event began when sunspot AR1402 produced an X2-class solar flare. (On the "Richter Scale of Solar Flares," X-flares are the most powerful kind.)  The explosion accelerated a fusillade of protons and electrons to nearly light speed; these subatomic bullets were guided by the sun's magnetic field almost
When the particles hit the outer walls of the spacecraft, they shattered other atoms and molecules in their path, producing a secondary spray of radiation that Curiosity both absorbed and measured.
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