Georgia Tech engineering alumni Devin Kipp and Ravi Prakash have been part of the MSL entry, descent and landing team since graduating in 2005 with M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering; Georgia Tech alumnus Dr. David Way has been part of this team since 2002. In the LA times, Kipp states, "It's not really possible to do an end-to-end test on Earth — because Earth is not Mars. The first time we do that end-to-end test, it's not a test. It's the real thing. On Mars."

Pictured are Professor Bobby Braun, AE, (L-r) with former Georgia Tech AE students Ravi Prakash, David Way and Devin Kipp with a full-scale model of the Mars Curiosity rover at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA