ROFL of the day: "Mars Action Hero"

[Bob Schroeck]

From http://www.scientificblogging.com/marsw ... ion_hero_0]this article about the Mars Science Lab:

MSL has class. It's not going to arrive on Mars huddled and asleep,
cocooned in wussy airbags. No, MSL is going to arrive in style: on a jetpack.
That's right. After its heatshield (the largest ever flown to another planet) withstands a fiery entry and is discarded, and its parachute
(50 feet across and deployed at twice the speed of sound) slows MSL
down, our action hero will cut the shrouds and fire up a jetpack. The
rockets will fire, bringing MSL within a few meters of the surface. And
then, as if all that was not impressive enough, MSL will rappel down
from the hovering platform, touch the surface, and cut the cords with explosive bolts. It will then smooth the creases in its tuxedo, adjust its tie and order a martini.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.