#OnlyOnTwitter: Curiosity

We often say “You never know where Twitter will take you,” but here’s one that (almost) defies imagination. Last night, we saw that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@NASAJPL) was live-tweeting the journey to Mars. As Curiosity, the car-sized rover, made its descent onto the Red Planet, the #JPL team shared Twitter updates directly from the command center. And that stream reveals a truly remarkable and historic sequence of events:

Just turned off the uplink signal - the spacecraft will operate autonomously through landing. Take care Curiosity. Godspeed. #msl #jpl #nasa

— Bobak F. (@tweetsoutloud) August 6, 2012

Right now #CUriosity has transitioned to #EDL mode.This means her fault protection has been battle shorted, and she is going in.

— Adam Steltzner (@steltzner) August 6, 2012

Curiosity is about to vent the cruise stage part of its cooling system in prep for separation #MSL

— Ray Baker (@RaySBaker) August 6, 2012

No comment needed. Entry minus 3 minutes. #MSL #EDL twitter.com/LeeCuriosity/s…

— Steven Lee (@LeeCuriosity) August 6, 2012
And then, after the "seven minutes of terror", in the words (and through the eyes) of the Curiosity rover itself:

It once was one small step... now it's six big wheels. Here's a look at one of them on the soil of Mars #MSL twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/…

— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) August 6, 2012
This monumental scientific achievement quickly inspired an Twitter outpouring of awe, pride, and even a dash of levity:

At the historic landing of @marscuriosity at @nasajpl last night. What an accomplishment! #MSL twitter.com/RepKarenBass/s…

— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) August 6, 2012

Dear @marscuriosity, Neil deGrasse Tyson signing out on Earth. Back to work - for us both. Closing my Twitterverse wormhole to Mars.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) August 4, 2012

The rover “Curiosity” successfully landed on Mars this AM, proving a historic moment for space exploration and the US. goo.gl/DsCBt

— John Shimkus (@RepShimkus) August 6, 2012

@sesamestreet Science is cool. Yip-yip-yip-yip... Uh-huh. Uh-huh. #STEM #MSL

— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) August 6, 2012

So, uh, @marscuriosity. Hi there.Welcome to the neighborhood.Sorry about the mess.Haven't had guests in a while.

— The Surface of Mars (@surfaceofmars) August 6, 2012
The @MarsCuriosity account will continue to share updates from the rover’s explorations, including photos from the surface of Mars. As Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) once said, “Mars is there, waiting to be reached”. Thanks for taking us there, @NASAJPL team.
Posted by Adam Sharp, Head of Government, News and Social Innovation (@AdamS)

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