Skip to main content

NASA tempers expectations ahead of Curiosity announcement, says news 'won't be earthshaking'

NASA tempers expectations ahead of Curiosity announcement, says news 'won't be earthshaking'

Share this story

curiosity rover foursquare check in cropped
curiosity rover foursquare check in cropped

Once teased as "one for the record books," NASA is now actively toning down hype surrounding its pending announcement regarding findings from the Mars Curiosity Rover. It was only a week ago that principal Curiosity investigator John Grotzinger told NPR, "this data is gonna be one for the history books." Thanks to the rover's SAM instrumentation — which analyzes the composition of dirt, rocks, air, and other items on the Red Planet — experts had come across something significant, he said. "The science team is busily chewing away on it as it comes down," Grotzinger said of SAM's data, adding it looked "real good" that NASA could soon divulge historic news.

But now the agency is backpedaling slightly, with spokesman Guy Webster conceding, "it won't be earthshaking but it will be interesting." In the days since the supposed major discovery, NASA has closely examined data and conducted numerous tests to ensure it can report these findings with the utmost certainty. As for when we'll finally hear what's behind the swell of anticipation. NASA is expected to share the news during the American Geophysical Union meetings slated to begin December 3rd.