Curiosity Rover Launches to Mars

By Nancy Atkinson - November 26, 2011 04:08 PM UTC | Missions

The Mars Science Laboratory is now on an 8.5 month trip to Mars! Watch the successful launch above, and our on-site team of Ken Kremer, Alan Walters, David Gonazales and Jason Rhian will provide all the launch details and more in subsequent, fact- and photo-filled articles.

Below is an incredible video of when the MSL spacecraft separated from the Centaur rocket:

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com