how big of a deal is this for nasa? >> oh, it's a very big deal for nasa. they're under enormous budget pressure right now. the obama administration reduced funding for planetary exploration and nasa mass backed out of two joint missions with the european space agency to mars. this is the last so-called flagship mission currently in the pipeline in getting it safely to the surface of mars was a huge step for nasa. >>> the ultimate goal to put a human being on mars. where are we on the timeline with that? >> we're a long way from putting humans on mars, terrell. somewhere in the late 2020s or 2030s is the earliest opportunity. but with this successful landing, it shows once again, american ingenuity is up to the task. this was one of the most complicated entries and landings they've ever attempted and they pulled it off without a hitch. while it doesn't relate directly to a manned flight, it gives one confidence that when it comes down to it, they'll be able to figure out a way to make it happen. >> bill harwood, in pasadena, california for us. appreciate it

it's the most dangerous operation that nasa has planned. visitors tonight got touch the same parachute material as they flocked to learn more about mars. curiosity is an advanced chemistry kit. >> there's a huge amount of information we can get out of it. >> reporter: it will analyze more than mars geology. its chemical make up. >> it's real exciting, it's the new life. we can go there and it's a new beginning. >> reporter: but first it has to land on task. nasa calls landing seven minutes of terror there's a lot riding on a smooth landing. >> i think if we're successful the planetary landing is in good standing. if it doesn't come successful, we -- i'm shaking but i think it's because i'm cold. >> reporter: we're live at nasa aims in mountain view. >>> now to the latest on that mass shooting today at a sikh temple in wisconsin. the shooting was killed after exchanging gunshots. >> reporter: a gunman shoeping up at a sikh temple opened fire, some got what could be considered a life saving call. >> they called us. they called us not to come

guest: nasa is a big customer. the basic goal is to reduce nasa's cost on doing things they do all the time so that nasa can look at the harder things like going to mars. host: here are some of the numbers. host: if you like to talk with alexander saltman about the exploration program, here are the phone numbers to call -- a story from "the l.a. times." this is just coming out on friday. host: how were these companies chosen? guest: there was a long competition. all these companies had won previous awards and now part of the last group. there was another company that won money in that round. these are contracts. they have not won the contracts until they perform. the companies get paid when they meet certain milestones. nasa will not pay them until they hit some of the milestones. host: building a space plane that closely resembles in many space shuttle. guest: building capsules. sierra is building a space plane. there designs an expert taste comes from nasa nasa originally did the research on that stuff. host: giv

nasa's curiosity rover lands overnight.the first photos beamed back to earth from 150 million miles away. >>> and electrifying. jamaican sprinter usain bolt sets a new olympic record hanging on to his title as the world's fastest man. >> usain bolt explodes, and he's still the king of the 100. >>> sanya richards-ross wins team usa first gold in 400 meters in 28 years. >>> from speed on the track to speed in the pool, world record breaker missy franklin is going home with five medals, four of those gold. she's with us live today monday august 6th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from olympic park in london, england. >>> and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" in olympic park in london on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer.

i have never seen this kind of a crowd, either media or members of the nasa family and the nasa team gathered here. this is a huge, huge event. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: and this is a major, major event for nasa. >> it's a major -- this is a big deal. how does it feel to have people applaud you like that, john? it must be nice. them talking about you. hey, john, human exploration of mars. what does this mean? >> well, you know, the robot explorers had to go first. if they can get this right, it will probably jump start further mars exploration with robotic vehicles. right now there are a couple others on the books but not major missions. like a sample return mission, which nasa's wanted to do for years. they're still planning nasa for human exploration in a 2035 time frame. they're going to have to do a lot more precursor missions and a lot more robotic missions before they undertake a man mission. so this one is critical to keeping up the interest in mars exploration. >> when are we going to know if it's a success? i ask that because sometimes, you know, rovers land and with technol

nasa's curiosity rover takes its first test drive on the martian nasa's curiosity rover takes its first test drive on the martian surface. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, august 23, 2012. >>> good morning everybody. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. the race for the white house got tighter as republicans get ready to officially make mitt romney their presidential nominee. quinnipiac university, new york times poll shows romney gaining ground on president obama in two critical battleground states and nine out of ten voters in florida, ohio and wisconsin say they know who they're going to vote for. susan mcginnis has details. good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the romney campaign is hoping to gain votes from the huge exposure that a convention brings and this new poll shows romney is getting an early bump in some critical states. rkers are putting the finishing touches on the convention floor before republicans arrive in tampa. florida is a key battleground state in the race for the white house and mitt romney is gaining ground in th

nasa has found more water on mars than ever thought possible. so was life ever on mars. >> we may find one thing here and one there. >> reporter: they are looking for the building blocks of life, water, energy and carbon. curiosity will spend two years looking for the evidence but it must first survive a landing that would be a rough ride for even the most seasoned astronauts. >> and we are back in a moment with a check on not one but two tropical storms here on earth. t. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. ♪ you can't wish your way onto the podium. ♪ you can't buy it or hope for it. ♪ it's not enough to dream about it. ♪ luck didn't get

that includes 400 nasa employees-- plus 300 scientists it outsourced. the research that went into creating the rover meant even more jobs... over the past eight years-- nasa says curiosity has generated 7-thousand jobs. of course, it helps that the project has a massive $2- and-a-half billion dollar budget. the biggest beneficiary has been rocket design company 'united launch alliance.' about 15-hundred of its workers helped with the launch vehicle. other companies specializing in aerospace projects helped create every important piece-- like engines and a parachute to help the spacecraft descend. and the spacecraft even got some help in unlikely places. tennessee bike-maker lite-speed chipped in to make titanium tubing for curiosity's mobility system. at a time when nasa is laying off thousands of workers-- the curiosity project will keep earthlings employed for the next two years. i'm alison kosik in new york. -----end-----cnn.script----- american airlines... gives you the option of skipping luggage claim. claim.the new service they're offering ... tha

and there is more on the best news that nasa could have asked for with the nasa rover curiosity. it is on the planet right now. and of course over at jpl, there are celebrations of this historic moment with the curiosity touching down, using untested technology. untested techniques. so much could have gone wrong. there was zero room for error. there was no error. photographs have been sent back already. and there are a lot of p happy people there right now. we will take a short break on cnn. and we will have more on the story when we come back. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity... to drive a car filled with as much advanced technology as the world around it. with the available lexus enform app suite, you can use opentable to make restaurant reservations... search with bing... and listen to pandora. presenting the 2013 lexus gs, rx and the all-new es, the leading edge of the leading edge. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> an historic night at the jet propulsion laboratory in p

nasa officials are calling this a huge day for the nation. also, president obama issued a statement shortly after the landing saying that this accomplishment proves that even the longest odds are no match for american ingenuity and determination. before the geological field work can begin, the engineers basically have to go through a system of testing of rover. then it's all about the scientific mission forward. terrell, back to you. >> looking forward to it. teresa garcia in pasadena this morning rmt thank you so much. >>> this isn't the first thim they've successfully landed a craft on the mars surface. the viking landers were the first to arrive on the red plap et. they sent these pictures back. just last month, nasa released this image taken by the opportunity rover which has been there for eight years now. it shows a massive crater created billions of years ago. >>> missions to mars, though, more often end in disappointment than success. out of more than 3 dozen attempts to fly by orland on mars, more than half ended in failure. we'll ta

. >> fast sas announces mull -- nasa announces multibillion dollar contracts. >> we examine the risk associated with some popular diets for our four-legged friends. >> we're back in for minutes with your weather first. you're watching 9news now. >>> 4:39 right now. we were 98 yesterday. mild this morning. i'll be back with more weather. >>> the rain showers nixed a whole bunch of construction projects overnight so barrels are out of your way and on the beltway in alexandria. looking live at eisenhower avenue. the plan over the weekend was for the megaprojects to be completed on the outer loop and inner loop through alexandria heading over to the wilson bridge. you should have two through lanes. looks great at eisenhower avenue. mike, back to you. >> thanks, beverly. see you in a bit. >>> time for the first your money segment. jessica is off but we do have the headlines. a better than expected july jobs report sent socks soaring to the highest level since may. >>> the i.r.s. has been handing out billions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds to identity thieves. there's a new report ou

nasa's new rover went for a test drive. and what martin luther king, jr. had to say in a long-lost interview when the "cbs evening news" continues. well, i had all the classic symptoms... like the elephant on my chest... he thought he was having a heart attack. she said, "take an aspirin, we need to go to the hospital." i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm very grateful to be alive. aspirin really made a difference. exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving y

counting down to the landing of nasa's newest rover curiosity. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues.Ñii] wow. that was fast. this is the check i've been waiting for. mom had a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy through the colonial penn program, and this will really help with the cost of her final expenses. is it affordable? it costs less than 35 cents a day-- that's pretty affordable, huh? that's less than the cost of a postage stamp. so, you said it was guaranteed acceptance? yes. it's for people ages 50 to 85. there's no medical exam or health questions. you can't be turned down because of your health. it fit right into mom's budget and gave her added peace of mind. you should give them a call. man: are you between the ages of 50 and 85? for less than 35 cents a day, you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance through the colonial penn program. you cannot be turned down because of your health. there are no health questions or medical exam. your rate will never go up, and your benefit will never go down due to age--

already nasa has found more water on mars than it ever thought possible. so did life ever exist on mars? >> so it's not just one thing we're after. it's several things. and we may find one here and one there. >> reporter: they're looking for the building blocks of life -- water, energy, and carbon. "curiosity" will spend two years looking for the evidence. but it must first survive a landing that would be a rough ride for even nasa's most seasoned astronauts. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> and we're back in a moment with a check on not one but two tropical storms here on earth. >>> we've got a lot of weather in the news this sunday night. we have a dangerous line of storms rumbling across the eastern u.s. also as we mentioned we've got a pair of tropical storms to tell you about. weather channel meteorologist kelly cass is standing by at headquarters with all of it. kelly, good evening. >> good evening, brian. millions of people being impacted by the threat for severe winds better than 60 miles per hour. have those flashlights ready. we could lose

nasa called it the most complex landing ever attempted on mars. that rover landed inside the crater. curiosity carries 10 scientific instruments and as many objectives >> my particular interest in the search for life on mars is the possibility we will find a different type of life and we have honored >> this whole enterprise comes out to be a cost of a movie, i know i speak on behalf of my colleagues that that is a movie i want to see >> we saw the first black and white pictures that were being back. they expect color images later this week and this is just the beginning of a two-year long mission that will determine if mars ever offered conditions that were favorable for life. it took 36 weeks to get there, 352 million mi.. now the work begins. >> that was the hard part and now all the fun. we have been asking, what about the price tag? the think that $2.5 billion is a good investment?. bill says, you bet. comment on facebook or twitter or e-mail. the time now is 640. a busy week ahead for state lawmakers. a costly computer glitch, the promotion

nasa compiled th e ed them into. they show the last two and a half minutes of what nasa said was an exciting ride. 13,000 miles. last hour, a nasa engineer showed a full scale model of the rover curiosity that's causing so much excitement. >> this is a model that we've been showing everybody. you can see how big this thing is. look down here, this is the soldier in a rover. 1997 it was flown. look how far nasa has come from the time they sent this rover to mars to this car sized rover. rob manning is here, chief engineer. you and i were here. >> a long time ago. >> that is one of your babies. >> this one is too. if it looks ten times harder, it's more like 100 times harder. it took us longer. we were able to get it. this was the most complex beast we've put into outer space. >> i know you said to me that the one wheel is more complex pretty much than the rover. >> the control of the stuff has been monumentally challenging. >> we're seeing a lot of images come down. tell us where we're getting some of these pictures f

nasa says things are going into plan. they are waiting like the rest of us. >>> they have their fingers crossed. we had a nice day today temperatures across the bay area in the upper 50s and low 60s 60 degrees in concord, 57 in santa rosa 58 at the airport. increasing sunshine means increasing temperatures near 100 degrees in and by thursday, it will get hot inland. all that said tropical moisture move north and west it blanketed the coast with low clouds and fog it will happen again tomorrow. we should warm up pretty good, between now and wednesday, today's numbers about 3-9 degrees warmer than saturday. out the door to more morning low clouds along shoreline, as the day goes on we get plenty of sunshine. the clouds pull back to the shore line on future cast and then low clouds begin to move back again. less extensive low clouds tomorrow. morning clouds and high of 70 degrees at thunder bumpers for new york city. denver has party cloudy skies. pinpoint forecast for tomorrow milpitas at 80 degrees, 65 at pacific up 64 at

nasa released the raw footage of the landing with complete play by play. rover dropping 150 meters per second. it shows the last 2 1/2 minutes before curiosity landed on mars. you can find the complete video on nasa's website. >> traffic clearly is just fine on mars. how does it look here in the bay area? >> we're going to start in the south bay, i'm not sure if i saw that same footage but a couple weeks ago, i saw a video at the tech museum. head out to the tech as well as the nasa website. 880 through 101, and brokaw, that area where there is construction but the slowing much less than we saw ten minutes ago. crews likely leaving the area. brokaw, the on ramp may be closed. if so, use montague. behind where it says view in mountain view on the left there is construction all the way into cupertino. no surprise there is or for 101 through palo alto. we're looking at a nice drive across the dumbarton bridge. construction but it's open next weekend, labor day weekend it will close from friday at 10:00 all the way through tuesday at 5:00 a.m. live look north,

it's all part of the transition from the old nasa to nasa 2.0. >> i would say the new nasa is the oldeas about exploration, but new ways to keep the american people focused on space. for the landing of curiosity, nasa used every trick in the high tech communications book. millions went online to watch nasa's special effects video of the landing, called seven minutes of terror. >> opens up that fast. it's a neck-snapping 9 gs. >> starring a giant parachute and a rocket-propelled landing platform. nasa used every kind of social media. the rover has its own twitter account with nearly a million followers and it will be sending back a steady stream of color photos, including these taken during its descent. nasa seems pleased with a scientist known as mohawk guy is an internet sensation. >> it's nasa for the new generation. >> bill harwood says it's no surprise that people are fascinated with the mars rover. >> landing on another world is exciting. what are they going to see? what will they find? was there life on mars? >> due to tight budgets, nasa had to withdraw from two other mars miss

he's kept the nasa program alive and it's actually flourishing. kudos to the president for how he's handled this and to the people who made this happen. >> in a time when we have these giant budget deficits, when everybody is asking for sacrifice from somebody, it seems that you could ask for bigger sacrifices from the martian budget. >> you know what the problem is tim? private industry will not fund basic research. this is true across the board, not just the space program. biotech, et cetera. private industry just won't do it until they find that there is some kind of a possible profit return, then they go crazy with it. >> uncertainty is -- >> this could act as a magnet for money from private industry. >> the mars landing is getting millions and millions of hits on the net, and that is going to be worldwide, and the dividends from that, that will flow into this sector of engineering will be amazing. i'm not talking about space, i'm talking about applications of what was learned. >> we hope. >> here here. >> am i right on that? >> yes. in the 18

this is you know, one of the most talented teams we have at nasa and at nasa, i think, we have the best of the best on planet earth. maybe mars, too. that is one of the things we will try and find out with curiosity. >> and what are you looking for in the images in the data coming back from curiosity? what do you expect to see and to learn? >> well, these early images are just really engineering images pictures to tell us a little bit about where we landed. and over the next few hours and over the next couple of days we'll start to get more of a perspective where we landed. we targeted the curiosity recovery to land in an area called gale crater. and specifically, it was targeted because it is a very deep crater and in the middle is a mountain that has been dubbed mount sharp after a keltic geologist and in the sides of this mountain we see evidence that water flowed on mars. we know that in other places and we've actually land now with the phoenix lander on ice, but what we want to study is the history, the water history and the geological history of mars. and we can do that just as on

. >> nasa celebrates a successful landing on mars. we have reaction and details about the mission. >> michael phelps talks about his future after retiring as the most decorated olympia and of all time. good morning, washington. i am cynne simpson. >> i am steve chenevey. glad to be with you. it's monday morning. let's go to adam caskey. >> wet conditions outside. let's look gets a areas of rain especially in stafford county. there's a downpour just west of the city of stafford, moving east. light rain in southern fauquier county moving from front royal across the blue ridge into northern fauquier county, spotty frecksprinkles in charles county. 89 degrees today expected with sunshine. >> 270 southbound, the accident is gone near father hurley. normal travel times returning. 66 is open and will be quite well between centreville and 495. looks good on the dulles greenway, the dulles toll road. 95 virginia has normal volume out of newington to springfield. a complicated on 395. back to you. >> thank you. today we are learning the man bel

so this morning's success no small feat for nasa. the most complex, costly and high-risk landing on the red planet red planet tears and plus echoing after seven minutes of terror. the six-wheeled suv-sized curiosity robot vehicle is carrying cameras and scientific instruments. the rover will spend a lot of time investigating mount sharp and a crater nearby. the mission will now test whether mars ever offered the favorable conditions or organic compounds necessary for life as we know it. >> we are going to have the opportunity for untold discoveries. >> the rove are spacecraft barreled into the martian atmosphere at 13,000 miles per hour. a huge supersonic parachute slowed its descent. >> there will be incredible images, real color like the human eye will see which will be really exciting. >> reporter: this was nasa's seventh landing on mars and the space agency is still debating whether it can afford another this decade. the europeans have teamed up with the russians as nasa decides on a new road map for mars. back up to you. >> than

. >> in a few moments, the nasa briefing -- the nasa briefing on the mars rover curiosity. we will we are the opening meeting of the democratic national committee platform drafting committee. -- we will read error the opening meeting. several live events to tell you about tomorrow morning. the second day of a forum on bullying on c-span2 at 8:30 eastern. at 9:30 eastern, labor secretary hilda solis about jobs and education in the latino community. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought to u.s. the public service on your it is by your tell vision provider it is by your television provider. >> the nassau rover curiosity landed on mars after traveling over 350 million miles since its loss -- since its launch in november. [cheers and applause] [applause] >> welcome to the nasa jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california. >> let me introduce the panelists. they will give us an update on the rover and an outlook. joining us right now we have a michael watkins, and the mission manager. miguel san martin, mission near of guidance control. sarah milko

multiple tests have shown the bay bridge is safe. " a letter to 90 nasa rover scheduled to touch down on mars. don knapp at nasa ames research center scientists are gathering to watch the critical moments call the " seven minutes of terror " >>> today and it is about the landing getting the rover safely down to the surface of the red planet and again a 2 year-long expedition of information gathering including evidence of life. >>> no one on earth will see the curiosity rover on his descent to mars thousands expected at nasa ames to get the first signals telling whether it survives or fail. among them chris mckay >>> all the watching the clock if this land successfully in a big sigh of relief, and then years of exploration on mars. >>> the new curiosity will have to survive heat and complications of being lowered from the ship. >>> there's a possibility will find a different kind of life than on earth a second genesis >>> the reliever will scoot but rock and soil and analyze and with a spectrometer chisholm when a march that water and had the habit that we should be on track to see wha

and nasa isn't the only one taking a backseat congress seems to be taking a vacation from tackling the u.s. unemployment problem all their constituents suffer coming up we'll show you how big the disconnect is between congress and the people they claim to represent. is monday august sixth four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for you're watching our t.v. . the washington post broke a big story today it turns out after serving as president obama's two thousand and eight campaign manager david plouffe accepted a one hundred thousand dollars speaking fee from a company that does business with the government of iran the company is a subsidiary of the m.t.n. group a south africa based telecommunications company and the article states that pluff was paid for two speeches he made in nigeria in december two thousand and ten it also goes on to suggest that although he did nothing that was illegal for a close obama aide to have accepted payment from a company involved in iran could prove troublesome for the president as the white house toughens its stance toward the islamic republic iran of c

nasa hoped it could land on the moon or asteroids without busting nasa's budget. scientists will have to rebuild it from scratch. as you can see, it was destroyed in the accident. >>> meantime, the public is getting a more detailed look at the surface of mars. kron4 gives us a closer look at two new high definition photographs from the red planet. >> nasa released a stunning new pictures. they sent low resolution images, now we have this 360- degree color panoramic shot. we have also gotten this overhead view of the probe itself. let's start by taking a look at this picture. this is looking down on curiosity from one of the navigation cameras. if we zoom in, you can see dirt and rocks that fell while it was landing. over here, it's an augmented reality tag. smart phone users will eventually be able to use this symbol to get more information about the mission. over to the left, you can see one of the rovers wheels once curiosity starts moving, as soon as next week, the wheels will leave a pattern in the sand that scientists can use to judge the distance that the pr

parachutes tested right here at nasa aims.rt to see the truly unique part of curiosity's arrival. a rocket-powered sky crane will lower the car sized rover gently onto the surface on a tether. once down the tether is cut and the sky crane flies a safe distance for a crash landing. on top of the incredibly complicated landing maneuvers, nasa is also monitoring the comparably more mundane martian weather. >> we've designed the space craft to basically handle all the conditions we've seen in past years whether they're clear or dusty. but we continue to monitor it in real time, getting data from the orbiters at mars every stay this week to make sure we understand what conditions the space craft will encounter as it's flying through the atmosphere and just how accurately we can expect to land. >> once on martian soil, curiosity will begin a mission that could last up to two years or more, investigating martian geology to determine if the red planet or the area it will land in was ever hospitallable for life. here at nasa aims, the

nasa isn't expected to find out at about 1:30 a.m. at the earliest. and with us is former nasa astronaut tom jones joining us from our washington, d.c. bureau. and this must be a special night for space enthusists and everyone else out there watching. >> mars has been in our imagination over a century. we've had mars rover spirit and opportunity on mars this, rover is so times bigger than those previous rovers and we're going to learn about the suitibility of mars for past and present life there. >> and this is especially intense because nasa is testing out a brand new landing technique. >> it's a real nail biter, there is a sus tim that is there on the planet we're awaiting 14 minutes of radio delay. to get signals back to tell us whether this is being put down on the surface, we're hearing signals to indicate whether each step is been going properly. when we get the final step that it's sitting on mars we'll know it goes for a five-year plus mission. >> and this would only be a success if it's transmitting information in the right place. seems like

that's at the nasa jet propulsion laboratory. that's a big historic moment for these guys.t's the latest mars rover known as curiosity had safely touched down on the red planet. in minutes from seeing the first photographs of the rover to touch down on mars, those represent a decade's worth of work for nasa scientists across the country and, of course, right here in maryland. as kristin fisher reports, one of the most important instruments on curiosity was designed at nasa's goddard spaceflight center in greenbelt. >> reporter: hundreds of scientists and spectators gathered at nasa goddard to watch curiosity live up to its name. >> it's really just getting our curiosity as human beings as we look at the universe and look around us. what else is out there? >> reporter: melissa treanor is just one of the goddard scientists that spent years developing the instrument at the core of curiosity's mission. >> sam is sample analysis at mars and it is basically the chemical laboratory that is on the curiosity rover. >> reporter: now the sam instrument built here at nasa goddard is on

and nasa's california could control remote as a huge relief for rover make its first tax on mars thislationship is the small but successful test drive 15 ft. forward a 120 degree turn and 80 back and over the next 23 months curiosity will climb the site of a march in mountain analyzing rocks try to determine that the conditions for life ever existed on the red planet. nasa has in the spot where curiosity touchdown bribery landing at to the late martian chronicles author ray bradbury who at the 92 today. bradbury inspired a generation of science fiction fans and the likely be thrilled to see that this mission to mars has become much more than a mere curiosity. this video nasa made about the landing has now been wants more than 6 million times john bad credits. i've read so many of a common saying this makes massive cool again. this makes you want to be an engineer. we felt the program and with funding cuts many wondered now set to remain relevant. this man video with 2 million hits online shows now say is not only relevant but borderline cool. curiosity traveled more than 350 million m

will it be a nasa program or a program that nasa pays for that we let someone else run? are they going to respond to all of our regulatory requirements on safety? these are things that i do not think have been addressed properly. i do not think they have been looked at. as far as -- i think you asked where we would go. my opinion is probably not worth much these days. but i am concerned in the near term about the gap. in the long term, i am concerned about exploration, because that is my back, exploration, going where no man has gone before, doing wide they could not do or -- doing what they could not do or maybe were afraid to do. i know how you feel about shuttle extension. i do not know about the capability to finance it. i think we ought to stretch the shuttle out. i think we ought to have something close the gap on the back and. i do not believe in commercial space. i believe it is something that we invested $9 billion in already called orion and aries. did it up and running. -- get it up and running. at least we will tell the rest of the world that we are not going