Touchdown: NASA rover lands on Mars after harrowing plunge

In this photo released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team members gather in the MSL Mission Support Area at the JPL hours ahead of the planned landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 in Pasadena, Calif. The MSL Rover named Curiosity is designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. Curiosity is due to land on Mars at 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012 (1:31 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012). (AP Photo/NASA, Bill Ingalls)