Mars Rover Landing!

My science brained, NASA loving boy got the thrill of a lifetime tonight. The last couple of weeks, the count down has been on in our house for the Mars rover, Curiosity, to land on the surface of Mars. Steven was so excited about it last night that he literally started jumping up and down while explaining to me every step of the mission. I listened as best I could, but can't say I understood every very technical word coming out of his mouth. He even wore his NASA outfit to show his support.
 
Dad stayed up with him to share in the excitement. Amanda Lily and I went to bed, and watched this morning on the DVR. When mission control got the news that Curiosity had successfully landed on the surface of Mars, I couldn't help but smile. All the years of hard work for those people had come to a wonderfully dramatic end. They all  jumped out of their seats and cheered, and I cheered for them.
Steven has spent the morning glued to the TV, soaking in all of the images, and information he can. One news caster described it as the "Super Bowl of Science", and my budding scientist couldn't agree more.

Steven in his NASA suit.

Here's a picture of the Orion space capsule aka the space shuttle replacement. NASA is hopeful it will be the vehicle that transports the next generation into space...in 12 years. Steven has done the math.