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A model of the Mars rover Curiosity, similar to the one shown here, will ride in the Inaugural Parade on Jan. 21. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
It’s an all-American, once-every-four-years tradition: the inauguration of a president. On Monday, Jan. 21, the Red Planet will join the traditional red-white-and-blue pageantry when a life-size model of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity appears in the inaugural parade after President Barack Obama takes the oath of office.
The rover model will be accompanied by four members of the team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that safely landed Curiosity on the Martian surface last August. The four JPLers representing Curiosity and the Mars Science Laboratory, the spacecraft that transported the rover to the Red Planet, are:
— Richard Cook-project manager — Jennifer Trosper-mission manager — Allen Chen–Flight Dynamics and Operations Lead for the entry, descent, and landing team — Bobak Ferdowsi-flight director
In addition to the JPL team, current and former NASA astronauts will appear in the parade, along with a model of Orion, the multi-purpose capsule that will take astronauts farther into space than ever before.
A full schedule of NASA-related events for Inauguration Day and the weekend leading up to it is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/news/inauguration.html.
For more information about Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. Follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity.
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