Tango Delta Nominal - the story behind the story behind the Mars Curiosity landing

The EDL War Room at JPL

When you were watching the Curiosity landing on Monday August 6, did you pick up the call? A woman's voice in a mostly male commentary: "Tango delta nominal."

That's NASA speak for TD - touchdown - okay. And the voice belonged to Jody Davis, and engineer on the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) team. But it was coded, because it wasn't the sign that everything was okay with the rover itself. the Skycrane still had to stay in its hover, the tethers sever, and the Skycrane fly away.

Read the rest of this intriguing story by JPL - short but recommended.

Watch the full landing, listen for the call at 4:20, watch for the guy up the back who breaks ranks early - just can't help himself! And watch for when Adam Steltzner touches Allen Chen on the back "It gave me a chill" Chen tweeted afterwards - it was the signal to confirm the successful touchdown. I can't watch it without getting a tear in the eye - again. And when they say "Odyssey data is very strong" remember that was all coming via the tracking station right here in Canberra.


Also, watch an animation of the landing, plus video from the MARDI camera on the rover, with commentary by EDL lead Adam Steltzner: