Watch the Mars landing from Curiosity’s point of view [Video]

Check this out. If you’re a hardcore geek, you’ll probably think it’s the coolest thing you’ve seen this year.

NASA today released a stop motion video of Curiosity’s descent onto the Martian surface. It’s by no means a state-of-the-art high-definition piece of cinematography. Once you know what it is though you can’t help but be awed, especially when it kicks up a cloud of dust on landing.

To make the video NASA stitched together 297 thumbnail images taken by the craft’s onboard Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)

According to The Verge, the images are only 192 x 144, although NASA is hoping to eventually get 1600 x 1200 photos from the Martian surface.

In case anyone’s wondering what the hell the point of the whole mission is, there are those who believe that Curiosity will have tangible real-world benefits. Speaking to The Verge, imaging scientist Mike Malin of to San Diego’s Malin Space Systems said:

These images will help the mission scientists interpret the rover’s surroundings, the rover drivers in planning for future drives across the surface, as well as assist engineers in their design of forthcoming landing systems for Mars or other worlds.