NASA's Curiosity rover mission is celebrating a dozen years on Mars, where it continues to make significant discoveries as it explores the foothills of a Martian mountain. The rover successfully landed on Mars on August 5, 2012, utilizing a pioneering technique known as the sky crane maneuver, which allowed for a precise landing.
The sky crane maneuver involved a robotic jetpack that delivered Curiosity to its landing site, lowering it with nylon ropes before cutting them and flying off to safely crash away from the rover. This innovative method was crucial as Curiosity's size and weight made traditional landing techniques, such as airbags, unfeasible.
NASA's recent Mars rover, Perseverance, also employed advanced sky crane technology during its February 2021 landing, utilizing terrain relative navigation for even greater precision. This advancement reflects the evolution of Mars landing techniques, with JPL's involvement dating back to the Viking landers in 1976.
As NASA aims to land larger spacecraft in scientifically promising locations, the sky crane maneuver provides a versatile framework that could be adapted for future missions, including potential landings on the Moon and other celestial bodies.