Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
August 6th: the date that turned every space science Ph.D. into a giddy teenager. Glued to YouTube, our eyes fixated, we waited. And then, with two words, every confidence in NASA was restored. The Mars Rover Curiosity landed.
Eruptions of applause filled JPL’s control room, followed by a string of hugs. That wave of elation wasn’t about individual glory; it was about taking a dream and turning it into a reality. And here we are, one year forward, still basking.
As a partner in this mission, FUTEK developed two sensors – a cryogenic multi-axial sensor and a cryogenic thru-hole load cell – to operate aboard the rover. Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Mars Rover Curiosity, the company is beyond ecstatic with the advancements accomplished by NASA and JPL.
It’s amazing how much NASA have achieved in 55 years. We may call Pixar and DreamWorks visionaries in making dreams reality, but NASA is the genuine article. Movies allowed us to see a man walking on the moon, but NASA made us believe it.
There’s an air of esteem associated with this program. It turned science into a celebrity. But unlike its contemporaries, NASA gained praise and recognition for intellect, ingenuity, and innovation. It wasn’t mere happenstance that the world grew to know this four-letter acronym so well. It was through the breach of boundaries that NASA became famous.
But even beyond the fame, at the very heart of NASA there’s an eternal enthusiasm that new discoveries always await. And so, as we embark on another year of canvasing the Martian world, we can only say: “I wonder what we will uncover next?”
