On the Lookout for Martians: Tonight, Live, on NASA TV

Want to land on Mars?

Well, you can't. Not yet. 

But early Monday uou can get a feel for what it might look like to land on the Red Planet when NASA broadcasts the landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover across the country. 

A lot of people are holding their breath.

Curiosity has been on its way to Mars since Nov. 26, 2011, when it launched from Cape Canaveral.

It will descend into the thin Martian atmosphere, using a new landing method consisting of rocket guided entry, parachute descent, more rockets and a “sky crane,” which is as fantastic as it sounds. The shell of the rover will use its rockets to hover above the surface as the science lab is lowered down the surface by an “umbilical cord.” 

There’s a lot going on here.

“On a scale of one to 10, landing on Mars is a 20,” according to the narrator in this video on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website. “Hundreds of things have to go just right.” 

No wonder they call the descent – when the rover speeds through the planet’s thin atmosphere, slowing from 13,000 to 0 mph in a matter of seven minutes – seven minutes of terror. 

The terror might be worth it. The rover's mission is to search the Martian landscape for signs of life. 

If you want to watch with the rest of the world, there are scheduled viewings across the country. A NASA broadcast will begin Sunday at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time and the rover should enter the Martian atmosphere at about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

The closest public broadcast will be in Greenbelt at NASA’s , but officials say all seats for “Mars at Midnight” are taken. Lucky attendees can watch the rover touch down and talk to scientists and engineers about the mission. 

But you have several alternative options for watching history as it happens.

Below is more information on how to watch the landing live, compliments of Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard deputy news chief.

Gutro's guide for watching Curiosity touch down:

You can watch it on: NASA TV VIEWING
The televised events will also be streamed live online.

Find other events online.