?Touchdown confirmed?

There were big celebrations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the $2.5-billion Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover had a perfect landing on the surface of Mars.

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MSL Flight director Keith Comeaux (R) celebrates with Martin Greco at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California after a successful landing for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover on August 5, 2012. AFP

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Joy after seven minutes of terror at NASA lab

By Romain Raynaldy (AFP)

PASADENA, California — After years of hard work and seven minutes of terror, workers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory let out their tears of joy.

"Touchdown confirmed," said a member of mission control at the laboratory as the room erupted in cheers at the touchdown of their $2.5-billion Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover on the surface of the Red Planet, breaking new ground in the US-led search for signs of alien life.

"We are wheels down on Mars. Oh, my God!"

An artist's conception of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover shows the mobile robot investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/HO/AFP)

Just minutes before that, a small control room packed with mission specialists had plunged into anguished silence as everyone watched images on the screens of the main control room, where all present could follow Curiosity's progress step by step.

This artist's concept shows the sky crane maneuver during the descent of NASA's Curiosity rover to the Martian surface. (NASA-JPL/Handout/Reuters)

"Seven minutes of terror" was how NASA characterised the extremely sophisticated operation that preceded the actual landing.

An initial round of applause came when Curiosity sent its first signal before entering the Martian atmosphere.

A second sigh of relief was when the ship opened its parachute.

But the most difficult part was yet to come: the vessel had to stabilise before an overhead crane, using nylon cables, gently placed Curiosity on the Martian soil – an operation that had never before been conducted.

At 10:32 pm local time (0532 GMT) this was accomplished and cries of joys filled the JPL.

The joy was palpable in the newsroom as project managers passed around Mars chocolate bars to employees, the JPL's "shadow army" of people who never appeared on cameras but worked doggedly for eight years to make this historic moment possible.

Intoxicated by their success, the JPL workers – all dressed in commemorative blue polo shirts with "August 5" embroidered on the heart – poured into the press conference room.

When the mission managers rose to the podium, the "blue shirts" rose as well, waving small American flags and chanting "EDL! EDL! EDL!" for the Entry, Descent, Landing team.

Those were a few minutes of joyful chaos, where every employee did a high-five with their supervisors, including Adam Steltzner, head of the EDL, who would dissolve in tears a few minutes later.

Beth Fabinsky, an engineer at JPL, said that when the magic word "contact' was uttered, she had an extraordinary feeling.

About two hours after landing on Mars and beaming back its first image, NASA'­s Curiosity rover transmitted a higher-resolution image of its new Martian home, Gale Crater. NASA

"It was amazing, better than we could have ever expected," Fabinsky told AFP. "I've been on a few missions where we've had success and that feeling beats anything I can imagine in my life yet.

"Everybody was terrified because this is the most complex mission that JPL has ever endeavored," she recalled. "There are so many things that could have gone wrong and they didn't and that was amazing. The fact that this one succeeded, it's got a little bit of miracle in it. So we're all thankful."

Gurkirpal Singh, who designed the guidance system for the last minute of descent, said he hardly had time to react.

"It was picture perfect," he said. "It was better than we could have ever hoped for.

propulsion – the force that moves or pushes something forward แรงขับเคลื่อน
laboratory – a room or building used for scientific research, experiments, testing, etc  ห้องปฏิบัติการ, ห้องทดลอง
Mars – the planet in the solar system that is fourth in order of distance from the sun, between the Earth and Jupiter  ดาวอังคาร
curiosity – a strong desire to know about something ความอยากรู้
rover – a small vehicle used by astronauts for travelling on the surface of a planet
surface – the outside or top layer of something  ผิวหน้า, ผิวภายนอก, ด้านนอก
terror – a feeling of extreme fear ความหวาดกลัว
touchdown – the moment when an aircraft lands on the ground การลงสู่พื้นของเครื่องบิน
mission control – a group of people who control a space flight from the ground, or the place where they do this
erupt – to start suddenly ปะทุขึ้น
break new ground – to do something completely different from what has been done before แหวกแนว
alien – a creature from another world คนต่างด้าว
specialist – a person who is an expert in a particular area of work or study ผู้ชำนาญเฉพาะทาง
plunge into silence – to suddenly become very quiet
anguished – feeling painful emotions ทรมาณทางจิตใจ
image – the picture that you see on a computer or television screen, or in a cinema ภาพ, ภาพบนจอ
present – being in a particular place or situation เข้าร่วม, อยู่
progress – the process of developing or of getting nearer to achieving or completing something ความคืบหน้า
characterise – to describe someone or something in a particular way  บรรยายอุปนิสัย, แสดงลักษณะ
sophisticated – complicated and advanced in design or planning ซับซ้อน
operation – a planned activity involving a lot of people การปฏิบัติการ
precede – to happen before something or come before something/somebody in order มาก่อน, อยู่หน้า, นำหน้า
initial – early; first  เบื้องต้น
applause - showing enjoyment or approval of something such as a performance or speech by clapping the hands repeatedly to make a noise การปรบมือแสดงความชื่นชม
atmosphere – the mixture of gases that surrounds the earth or another planet บรรยากาศ
sigh – to breathe out slowly making a long soft sound, especially because you are disappointed, tired, annoyed, or relaxed ถอนหายใจ
relief – a feeling of happiness that something unpleasant has not happened or has ended การผ่อนคลาย
parachute – a device that is attached to people or objects to make them fall slowly and safely when they are dropped from an aircraft. It consists of a large piece of thin cloth that opens out in the air to form an umbrella shape  ร่มชูชีพ
vessel – a large boat or ship, or in this case, a space vehicle
stabilise – to become or to make something become firm and steady ทำให้มั่นคง to become or to make something become firm and steady
crane – a tall machine used for lifting or moving heavy objects and building tall buildings เคลื่อนที่โดยปั้นจั่น
gently – carefully, without a lot of force or sudden change in movement  อย่างนุ่มนวล
soil – the substance on the surface of the Earth or other planets ดิน
conduct – to do something in an organised way; to carry out — ลงมือทำ, ดำเนิน, ปฏิบัติ
local – in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about  ท้องถิ่น
accomplish – to achieve something ทำได้สำเร็จ
palpable – easily noticed by the mind or the senses  ชัดเจน
doggedly – showing determination; not giving up easily อย่างแน่วแน่, อย่างดื้อรั้น
historic – of historical importance ที่สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์
intoxicated – feeling so excited or happy about something that you cannot think clearly มัวเมา
commemorative – a done in order to remember an important person or event เป็นที่ระลึก
embroider – to decorate cloth with a pattern of stitches usually using coloured thread  เย็บปักถักร้อย, ปัก, ปักผ้า
press conference – an official meeting where someone makes a formal statement about a particular issue or event to journalists and answers their questions about it การแถลงข่าว
podium – a small raised area where someone stands to give a speech, conduct an orchestra, give out awards, etc. แท่น, พลับพลา
chant – to keep shouting or singing a word or phrase many times โห่ร้อง, โห่ร้องต้อนรับ, ร้องเพลง
chaos – a very confused situation  ความโกลาหล
high-five – the action of holding your hand up and hitting your palm flat against that of another person, when you meet them or as a way of congratulating them
supervisor – someone who is in charge of an activity, a place, or a group of people ผู้ควบคุมดูแล, หัวหน้างาน
dissolve in tears – to suddenly begin to cry เริ่มร้องไห้
contact – a situation in which people or things touch each other การสัมผัส
utter – to make a sound with your voice; to say something  พูด
extraordinary – very unusual and surprising เกินธรรมดา, ผิดธรรมดา
imagine – to form a picture of something or someone in your mind นึกคิด, จินตนาการ, นึกฝัน
terrified – very frightened ตกใจ, ใจหาย, ขวัญหนี
complex – having a lot of details or small parts that make it difficult to understand or deal with ซับซ้อน
endeavor – to make an effort to do something, especially something new or difficult พยายาม
miracle – an unusual and mysterious event that is thought to have been caused by a god or something not understood, or any very surprising and unexpected event which seems to be impossible เรื่องมหัศจรรย์, ปาฏิหาริย์
guidance system – a device or group of devices used to navigate/control the path of a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or other craft
react – to behave in a particular way because of something that is happening around you or something that someone is doing to you ตอบสนอง, เกิดปฏิกิริยา