0! It's Mars Curiosity landing day. Here's what to expect...

At last the day has arrived. At about 3:30pm today Australian eastern time, Mars Curiosity will - one way or another - touch down on the enigmatic Red Planet.

After surviving THAT landing process, slowing from a relative velocity of 12,852 kilometres per hours to zero on the surface of Mars, what happens next?

Lead rover driver Matt Heverly has already described what will happen from his perspective, but what we haven't really known is what we'll get to see of all this. Until now that is.

NASA has released a blow-by-blow of the process, and they are moderating our expectations, letting us know that perhaps we shouldn't be expecting glorious panoramic shots of the horizon moments after landing...

Curiosity's masthead   Source: NASA

Never ones to play to the wants of the fans and media, for NASA it will be all about safety first. Not sure that the many media outlets planning to live broadcast the landing quite understand the nuance of that... But there is after all some $2.5 billion plus a serious chunk or corporate reputation riding along with this rover mission.

First the downwards-facing low-resolution greyscale hazcams will check out the position of the rover - within minutes of the touchdown. Plus about 14 minutes for the signal to reach Earth of course. AND a couple of hours.

Why? Because Curiosity won't be sending signals directly to Earth - it will transmit its picture to the Mars Odyssey - a satellite circling Mars. And Odyssey has to be in the right position of its orbit to both pick up the transmission from the rover and to bounce it on the us. But still on the same day - Sol 0 as they call it.

Colour photos from MARDI - the Mars Descent Imager camera - won't be released until the day after landing - Sol 1.

Then there'll be a full colour shot from MAHLI - the Mars Hand Lens Imager - which is mounted on the robot arm, but while still in the stowed position. Don't expect this until Sol 2.

Finally when a comprehensive systems checkout is completed, they'll be ready to raise the mast - Curiosity's head and neck it you will. Once the mast is up, she'll be able to do a full 360 degree look about the landing site, using the 1-megapixel NavCams. Expect this on Sol 3. Also on Sol 3, the 2 megapixel MastCams should start sending back images.

After that, the telescopic ChemCam should start coming into play.

So folks, it seems we'll need to be patient. Will be interesting to watch the media reaction when things don't start happening instantly after the landing...

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