This morning, a little before 6:30am BST the Mars Science Laboratory (aka Curiosity) landed on the red planet Mars.

As I watched the live pictures being beamed from the JPL control room and the jubilence from the oribiter team I couldn’t help but be caught up in the moment. Even though NASA have landed a number of rovers on the planet before it never ceases to amaze me that we have ths capability. Less than 100 years ago this feat would have been thought to be something that only a God could do. Now, we seem to be able to do it routinely.

At the same time I am struck by the thought that this is one of the few real engineering activities that we humans undertake anymore. What I do as my day job is not real engineering - that’s just the title it’s been given in the past few years by companies trying to make their jobs sound a lot more interesting than they really are.

That thought doesn’t bother me quite as much as the next one: it’s too late for me. What I mean by this is that for me as an engineer its too late for me to change the choices I have made and aspire to get onto the next lander mission. I wish I were a schoolboy again, feeling that sense of awe at these achievements, and able to take that inspiration and drive towards working on these kinds of systems.

Even though I am no longer a schoolboy, I can still change. I am inspired by these accomplishments, and I will strive to those heady heights even though I know that I will not personally reach them. However. It’s the journey and not the destination that counts. If along that journey I can make some small difference then it will have been worth it.

I’m wait with eager excitement for the science that Curiosity will perform.