Although a lot of science went into this landing process, superstition on landing night can't hurt.

CNN: Rover Curiosity near Mars landing

The landing process was dubbed "seven minutes of terror" and involved the world's largest supersonic parachute and a sky crane.

CNN: Mars rover mission's 'Mohawk Guy' inspires Obama

This jaw-dropping landing process, involving a sky crane and the world's largest supersonic parachute, allowed the spacecraft carrying Curiosity to target the landing area that scientists had meticulously chosen.

CNN: Mars landing went 'flawlessly,' scientists say

NetApp co-founder Dave Hitz invited Vu Nguyen, the infrastructure engineer for the Curiosity project to discuss the big data behind the process of landing Curiosity safely on the surface of Mars.

FORBES: 7 Minutes of Big Data: Driving NASA's Mars Curiosity

The cause of the crash is still being investigated but is believed the balloon had been in the process of landing when a landing cable got caught around a gas tube and a fire erupted on board.

BBC: Egypt hot air balloon tragedy: Tributes paid to victims

According to initial indications, the balloon was in the process of landing after 7 a.m. when a cable got caught around a helium tube and a fire erupted, according to an investigator with the state prosecutor's office.

NPR: Fiery Balloon Accident Kills 19 Tourists In Egypt

Unfortunately, because of the nature of air circulation, any downward-pointing force created aerodynamically generates a backward-pointing resistance in the process just as an increase in the lift of an aircraft wing as the flaps are lowered for take-off or landing creates more drag in the process, forcing the pilot to open the engine throttles to overcome the extra wind resistance.

ECONOMIST: CAR DESIGN

Unfortunately, many of the most valuable images, including those of the Apollo 11 landing site, had degraded beyond repair, likely due to the normal but damaging process of pausing, rewinding and playing again and again.

FORBES: Fading History: Vintage Films And Photos Crumbling To Dust