7 Minutes To Mars

Reuters announced that 'Curiosity', the first full-fledged mobile science laboratory ever sent to a distant world, was scheduled to touch down inside a vast, ancient impact crater on Sunday 6th August 2012 at 10:31 p.m. Pacific time (1:31 a.m. EDT on Monday) 06.31 GMT (BST). There will be window of 7 minutes in which Curiosity will have to make an intense and complex maneover to get from the atmosphere to the surface of Mars. 7 minutes and zero margin for error - "We're on target to fly through the eye of the needle" Arthur Amador, the Mars Science Laboratory mission manager.

At the precise moment of the promised touch down, Mars, from Earth's perspective, will be in 19 degrees of Libra. Libra is the sign of partnership, and hopefully this exploration is the beginning of a very harmonious relationship with ‘the red planet’. 
In traditional astrology because Libra is the opposite sign to Aries which Mars rules, it is classed as being in Detriment, in other words, it will work in more mysterious ways (see Mars in Libra Land) It works but not how it is 'supposed to', it sulks and misbehaves. In this position assertive Mars has to deal with ideals like justice and fairness for everyone and sometimes to act selflessly not selfishly. 

People born with this placement are keen to be masters of their own fate, they want to be captain of their ship, masters of their fate. They feel that their vital energy must tread a delicate path between self-assertion and cooperation with others in order for them to thrust and drive forward. They are certainly not debilitated, in fact they are often the opposite, fired up and eager to prove a point.

'Curiosity' is the name of the craft which is a very Mercurial name, and Mercury at the time of vital descent will still be in its Retrograde motion in Leo. Mercury Retrograde can scrabble instrumentation (see Scribbles & Moonwalks Mercury Rx). However it does form a Fire Grand Trine with the Moon in Aries and North Node in Sagittarius. Grand trine’s do promise limitless ease, speed and flow. The Aries Moon plugs into Mars; Mars rules Aries. The north node is a compass point we should stretch towards, and in Sagittarius that ‘stretch’ is exploration of faraway lands – or planets in this instance.

          
This is the full animation after the 7 minutes danger zone is over successfully
At 6.14 BST Nasa's Curiosity rover landed safely in Gale Crater on Mars after a complicated landing sequence. 'Touchdown confirmed. We are safe on Mars!'

Curiosity Wheel on Mars

'Curiosity is in great shape....see you on the other side, on Mars' Adam Stelzner, Nasa.

A Tweet from Curiosity '...Wish me luck' Further information to follow.

Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographs Curiosity and its parachute descending to the surface of Mars in its 7 minute window.

credits: Nasa & The Economist & CNN
posted by pippa ponton & jphibbs