Watch NASA's InSight land in the middle of Times Square, just like the movies
Stop in the middle of Times Square, grab a stranger's hand and stare in wonderment as NASA survives the "seven minutes of terror" to land InSight on Mars.
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
The Nasdaq building's massive seven-story screen will show the InSight landing in the middle of Manhattan on Monday.
At 3 p.m. ET on Monday, the world will be holding its breath as NASA's InSight mission prepares to touch down on Mars. And if you're in New York, you can stand with fellow New Yorkers, tourists and fully grown adults in Elmo suits to celebrate the moment in Times Square.
The InSight mission is set to land on Mars at roughly 3 p.m. ET on Monday (that's noon PT). To celebrate, the whole thing will be shown on the seven-story curved screen wrapping around the Nasdaq tower in the heart of Times Square (see it here on Google Maps).
It'll be just like those scenes in alien invasion films where the community comes together in the bustling city to marvel at the feats of humanity. But instead of watching the alien mothership explode, you'll see a real-world space achievement years in the making.
It's worth getting there early to get a pretzel and a good position (Times Square is a crush at the best of times). From there, you'll be able to grip a stranger's hand as NASA waits through the "seven minutes of terror" to safely get the lander on the Red Planet -- that's the time when NASA won't be able to control InSight and will instead be relying on commands preprogrammed into the spacecraft. That's good TV!
You can find more information on the screening on Facebook. And don't forget, if you can't make it to New York, you can still watch the whole thing online.
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