Curiosity has Begun Braking

The news Mars rover, Curiosity, is scheduled to land at 1:31 AM EDT on Monday, August 6. The spacecraft has already begun its approach to the planet. If all goes well, its descent should put it down in the spot marked above, within the Gale Crater. (You can watch a video of the complex landing procedure here.) This is a bigger and more capable rover than the ones we sent before. Which means, if you ask me, that it will accumulate even more evidence that there has never been life on Mars. Might be interesting in other ways, though.