7 minutes of terror

The graphic was created as a visual guide to NASA’s Curiosity rover landing on Mars in August 2012, counting down from guided entry into the atmosphere, illustrating key events and details along the way. Nature’s audience is predominantly scientists, so the graphic is heavy on precise measurements — such as altitude and velocity at specific moments — while at the same time giving an overall context for the mission by using step-by-step illustrations on a map of the landing site, and also compares key details with previous missions to Mars.

Art direction: Kelly Krause
Publisher: Nature