Politics & Government

Monrovia Mayor: 'I Went...To Mars'

Mayor Mary Ann Lutz talked about her experience watching the dramatic Mars Rover Curiosity landing during her visit to the Monrovia company that manages the rover's communication network.

When the Mars Rover Curiosity beams photos and data back to Earth, that information .

The firm, Exelis Inc., invited Mayor Mary Ann Lutz and Fire Chief Christopher Donovan to its Monrovia offices Sunday to watch the . Lutz excitedly recounted the experience at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

"It was one of the most exciting events that we've been at in a long time," Lutz said. "We both talked the following day about how we got home late that evening and just kept thinking about Mars and what it takes to get there and the brain power to get us there and how amazing it was."

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Jane Houston Jones, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and co-founder of the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers, watching the landing unfold from JPL headquarters in Pasadena during the so-called "7 Minutes of Terror."


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