Right now, MSL’s Centaur stage is performing a burn which will take it out of Earth’s orbit and on its way to Mars. NASA TV is showing some great video from the Centaur stage…it’s about to separate from the spacecraft. EDIT: MSL just separated from its Centaur! Woo hoo! It’s on its way to Mars now!

Emily Carney is a writer, space enthusiast, and creator of the This Space Available space blog, published since 2010. In January 2019, Emily’s This Space Available blog was incorporated into the National Space Society’s blog. The content of Emily’s blog can be accessed via the This Space Available blog category.

Note: The views expressed in This Space Available are those of the author and should not be considered as representing the positions or views of the National Space Society.