During the Viking Lander missions to Mars in the 1970s, NASA began using the time increment "sol" as the equivalent of a Martian "day," because a day on Mars lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds — about 3 percent longer than a day on Earth. Timekeeping for a NASA mission to Mars typically begins at Sol 0 when a spacecraft touches down on Martian soil. Curiosity Rover has been rolling around the surface of the Red Planet since 10:32 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012, more than 3,850 sols ago.
Curiosity Rover touched down on Mars at a landing site named for whom?
A) Neil Armstrong
B) Ray Bradbury
C) Nicolas Copernicus
D) John F. Kennedy
Previous answer: Lexiko was the original name of Scrabble.
TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of "Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts." Contact her at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.
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