Video of Curiosity saying bye bye to its heat shield

As the rover Curiosity descended to the surface of Mars, the heat shield that protected it from the heat of atmospheric entry was ejected while still high above the rusty plains. Cameras pointed downward captured images of the heat shield as it fell away, and folks at JPL put together this short video of it:

How cool is that? Mind you, that's flippin' Mars in the background! And we also have a shot of the heat shield lying on the ground a few hundred meters away from the rover's landing spot, too.

I'll have more stuff from the rover soon, too. It's getting hard to keep up with all the news coming from Mars!

Related Posts:

- Curiosity landing site: the whole mess
- VIDEO of Curiosityâs descent⦠from the rover cam itself!
- Curiosity update: Heat shield spotted!
- Mars orbiter catches pic of Curiosity on its way down!
- Humans send their Curiosity to Mars!