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Article posted: 9/4/2012 7:22 AM

Can Curiousity ignite new interest in space?

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A handmade sign honoring astronaut Neil Armstrong is hung under a freeway off-ramp sign at the NASA-JPL exit on the CA-210 Freeway in Pasadena, Calif. Armstrong, the first man on the moon, inspired millions with his moonwalk.

Associated Press

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NASA scientists face the press and talk about the Curiosity rover's performance and mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Associated Press

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Neil Armstrong inspired millions with his moonwalk. Can a feisty robotic rover exploring Mars do the same for another generation? With manned missions beyond the International Space Station on hold, the spotlight has turned on machines. While it did not rise to Armstrong's "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," interest was so high in the rover Curiosity's "seven minutes of terror" approach to the red planet earlier this month that NASA's website crashed after receiving nearly 2 billion hits.