num_pages: 240
description: The firsthand account of the trials and tribulations of engineering one of the most complex pieces of space technology the Mars Rover Curiosity by its chief engineer Rob ManningIn the course of our enduring quest for knowledge about ourselves and our universe we haven't found answers to one of our most fundamental Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Ten years and billions of dollars in the making the Mars Rover Curiosity is poised to answer this all-important question.In Mars Rover An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer  Rob Manning the project's chief engineer tells of bringing the groundbreaking spacecraft to life. Manning and his team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tasked with designing a lander many times larger and more complex than any before faced technical setbacks fights over inadequate resources and the challenges of leading an army of brilliant passionate and often frustrated experts.Manning's fascinating personal account--which includes information from his exclusive interviews with leading Curiosity scientists--is packed with tales of revolutionary feats of science technology and engineering. Readers experience firsthand the disappointment at encountering persistent technical problems the agony of near defeat the sense of victory at finding innovative solutions to these problems the sheer terror of staking careers and reputations on a lander that couldn't be tested on Earth and the rush of triumph at its successful touchdown on Mars on August 5 2012. This is the story of persistence dedication and unrelenting curiosity.
language: English
title: Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer
publisher: Smithsonian Books