Movie: Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL)

Navigators must safely maneuver Spirit and Opportunity to their precise atmospheric entry points to reach their landing targets on the surface of Mars.

In only six minutes, the spacecraft must slow down from an incredible speed of 12'000 miles/h (~20'000 km/h) to nearly zero. In this three-part episode of "The Challenges of Getting to Mars," spacecraft engineers give a play-by-play of the Entry, Decent, and Landing mission phase that they refer to as their nailbiting "Six Minutes of Terror."

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/challenges.html