If you watched the Olympic opening ceremonies (or, you know, have access to the internet), you’ll recognize this photo.

The five rings, showering sparks as though newly forged, hung in the center of Olympic Stadium. When the sparks slowed and then stopped, five glowing Olympic rings hung in the sky.

Now, the rover will explore [PDF]. Much bigger and with more robust instrumentation than the smaller rovers that preceded it, it will test rocks, take chemical samples of its surroundings, send back more and more images of the planet in our solar system most like our own.

For all of the tiny, myriad things that could have gone wrong, it didn’t. Curiosity, a roving science station named by a kid from Kansas, was a flawless performance. A moment of triumph for humanity that the Olympics couldn’t possibly match.

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