Even as something of a Mars fever naysayer, I can say that the sight of dust billowing as the Curiosity lander touches down delivers an eerie, awed chill. The video above, coming courtesy of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was just released today, providing the first high-res shots of the Mars landing. (Hopefully this one won’t get copyright trolled.) The video begins as the craft sheds its heat shield and concludes two-and-a-half minutes later at touchdown. Just imagine you’re one of the Martians that’s been in hiding since the Soviet Union delivered Mars 2 and 3 to the planet’s surface in 1971 (the first human stuff to reach the surface) watching this janky alien robot touch down, parachute in tow. How tragicomic.
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