Curiosity Kills: The ALL TIME Twitter Stars of Mars Landing!

The Curiosity is a part of the 2.5 billion dollar NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory project. The Curiosity was launched last year November; and nine months later, it finally landed on Mars at 1:39 AM EST after making a 567 million kilometers journey. This Curiosity rover will be doing research for the next two years about Mars’ climate and geology at a mountain called Mount Sharp, located next to the Gale Crater.

Thanks to the internet, people around the world could follow the entire process of landing through NASA’s LIVE webcast. Not only a LIVE stream; social media users could also experience this historical moment through social media. The official Twitter account of Curiosity Rover was busy live-tweeting through the whole landing process; making it the most-social-landing ever in the history of human kind!

“I’m safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER IM IN YOU!!! #MSL”, shouted @MarsCuriosity exactly seconds after its landing at 1:32 AM. Fifteen minutes later, it tweeted its first picture from Mars (something that Neil Armstrong and friends couldn’t do 43 years ago! Imagine if Twitter has been invented that time ...), “No photo or it didn’t happen? Well lookee here, I’m casting a shadow on the ground in Mars’ Gale crater #MSL pic.twitter.com/cj1zFJty”.

^{Tweets from @MarsCuriosity}

Back on the mother earth, the experts behind Curiosity were also busy tweeting the landing process. Multitasking I would say: One hand operating the rover while another hand tweeting. Didn’t they know that you are not allowed to tweet  while driving? Anyway, here are the famous Mars-twitterers from NASA’s kitchen:

• Veronica McGreggor and team- @MarsCuriosity

Obviously Curiosity does not really tweet from space; Veronica McGreggor, NASA’s social media manager, and her team (John Yembrick, Stephanie Schierholz, Courtney O’Connor, Stephanie Smith,and the team) were the people behind @MarsCuriosity Twitter account. “I try to put myself into the mindset of the rover, if that's possible, and tweet from that perspective. I also look to the scientists and engineers behind this project and add their hopes and fears into the personality” said McGreggor in her interview with TechNewsDaily.

^{NASA Social Media team receiving Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award}

• Bobak Ferdowsi - @tweetsoutloud

Bobak Ferdowsi, the flight director of MSL Curiosity mission, received the second most popular name after the Curiosity itself. Today he became an internet sensation and gained Twitter followers from only 200 to 11.000; all because of his sweet tweets and his flashy mohawk.

^{A tweet from @tweetsoutloud}

• Adam Steltzner - @steltzner

“Just played our 'Landing Song' in the control room. Frank Sinatra, ‘All or nothing at all’, the Nelson Riddle Arrangement #MSL #EDL”. NASA Engineer, Adam Steltzner, was the all-time star of MSL, long before Bobak Ferdowsi was famous for his instagram picture. I guess because of his funky Elvis look.

^{A tweet from @steltzner}

Anyhow, congratulations NASA for the breakthrough! Hopefully soon enough we will have the first human walking on Mars!