Final preparations were underway at Nasa today as the space agency's Curiosity rover began its final approach to the red planet ahead of its expected landing on monday morning. Mission scientists explained how the seven cameras aboard the rover are set to capture the martian surface as we have never seen it before. However, the rover still has one massive hurdle to overcome before it can even begin work - the much anticipated 'seven minutes of terror' as it hurtles through the martian atmosphere, before (hopefully) being gently placed onto the surface by a floating 'air crane'. Scroll down for video . Speaking martian - Scientists comment on the seven cameras aboard the Curiosity Mars Rover during a media briefing at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena - but have to explain each acronym first . Today the leading scientists behind the project explained exactly what will happen - and admitted that explaining the project has been tough due to the huge number of acronyms used. Names and descriptions are often reduced to acronyms and abbreviations, which are faster to string together in a sentence but can end up sounding downright martian to the outside world.. Curiosity is loaded with the most . sophisticated instruments to study Mars' environment — with convoluted . names to match. 'Mastcam' refers to the pair of 2-megapixel color . cameras on the rover's 'head'. 'SAM', short for Sample Analysis at . Mars, is the mobile chemistry lab designed to sniff for carbon . compounds. 'ChemCam' stands for Chemistry and Camera, otherwise known as . the rock-zapping laser. 'RAD' is the radiation detector. 'EDL' is the entry, descent and landing, or as NASA has come to call . it: Seven minutes of terror. 'DSN' is the . Deep Space Network, a worldwide network of antenna dishes that . communicates with interplanetary spacecraft. Nominal means A-OK. Not so . for anomaly (translation: Houston, we have a problem.) 'It's kind of our own slang,' explained Michael Watkins (above), mission manager of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars project. 'It's a shorthand way to talk about these very complicated systems.' He added: 'Even folks from other missions have no idea what we're talking about." Even the rover's name can be complex. In the halls of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it's called MSL — short for Mars Science Laboratory. Spacecraft typically have technical names before being rechristened by the public through naming contests sponsored by NASA. For example: the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity that landed in 2004 were known as MER-A and MER-B for the longest time (MER is shorthand for Mars Exploration Rover.) MSL did not become Curiosity until 2009 when a sixth-grader from Kansas proposed the nickname. Still, there are some hard-cores who continue to use the scientific moniker. The dizzying naming system even extends to time. It takes Earth 24 hours to spin on its axis — the definition of a day. Mars spins more slowly than Earth — taking 24 hours and 39 minutes. To distinguish between Earth and Mars time, a Martian day is called a sol, Latin for "sun." Yesterday on Mars is yestersol. Newcomers often find there's a steep curve to master the technical language. 'It takes some time to pick it up,' said Ken Farley, a professor at the California Institute of Technology who is participating on his first space mission. Luckily, Farley said new shorthand words are added to the mission's internal website. Before Spirit and Opportunity launched, cultural psychologists worked with scientists to come up with a better way to communicate. The rules of Mars-speak put in place back then still lives on today. JPL scientist Deborah Bass, who worked on that mission, said it's important to talk with precision. But she said it's also essential not to alienate fans. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission members work in the data processing room beside Mission Control at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena . 'We're so jazzed about what we do,' Bass said. 'We can forget that not everybody has the same fundamental background as we do.' However, the team admit that while nowhere will extraterrestrial . vocabulary fly faster than in the JPL mission control room on landing . day, for the casual observer there is one simple tip - just look for the cheers or . tears. To reach its intended touch-down zone in a deep equatorial crater, the Curiosity rover must enter the atmosphere at a very precise point. A slight course correction - the fourth since launch - was made last Saturday, and mission scientists said the latest analysis indicates Curiosity will be no more than a kilometre from going straight down its planned "keyhole". The team is so confident it may abandon a planned final course correction on friday. 'We are about to land a small compact car on the surface with a trunk-load of instruments,' said Doug McCuistion, the head of Nasa's Mars programme. 'This is a pretty amazing feat getting ready to happen. 'It's exciting, it's daring - but it's fantastic," The $2.5bn mission is due to touch down at 05:31 GMT (06:31 BST) Monday 6 August; 22:31 PDT, Sunday 5 August. Engineers work on a model of the Mars rover Curiosity at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena . It will be a totally automated landing, as the vast distance between Mars and Earth means there is a 13-minute lag . in communications, making real-time intervention impossible. The team has devised a rocket-powered, hovering crane . to lower the rover to the surface in the final moments of its descent. The first black-and-white images of the surface taken by Curiosity . should be returned to Earth in the first hours after touch down, but the . mission team do not intend to rush into exploration. 'This is a very complicated beast," said Pete Theisinger, Curiosity's project manager told the BBC. 'The speech I made to the team is to recognize that on Sunday night at . [22:32 PDT], we will have a priceless asset that we have placed on the . surface of another planet that could last a long time if we operate it . correctly, and so we will be as cautious as hell about what we do with . it.' Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Lead Flight Director David Oh in the Mission Control room ahead of the landing of the Mars rover Curiosity. The team has also been experimenting using a full size replica of the rover, and has even created a 'martian park' in Pasadena so they can replicate the surface of the red planet. In mission control, the banks of screen scientists will use to monitor the landing were today unveiled, giving a unique glimpse into the mission. Ryan Mukai, telecommunications engineer, monitors the progress of the Mars Curiosity mission at NASA's Mars Science Laboratory .
Mission scientists reveal dizzying array of acronyms used in mission control .
Unprecedented insight into the technology used in the $2.5bn million to look for life on the red planet .
Amazing photos show the scientists at work as final preparations get underway in Pasadena .
First black and white images expected hours after landing .
Final preparations were underway at Nasa today as the space agency's Curiosity rover began its final approach to the red planet ahead of its expected landing on monday morning. Mission scientists explained how the seven cameras aboard the rover are set to capture the martian surface as we have never seen it before. However, the rover still has one massive hurdle to overcome before it can even begin work - the much anticipated 'seven minutes of terror' as it hurtles through the martian atmosphere, before (hopefully) being gently placed onto the surface by a floating 'air crane'. Scroll down for video . Speaking martian - Scientists comment on the seven cameras aboard the Curiosity Mars Rover during a media briefing at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena - but have to explain each acronym first . Today the leading scientists behind the project explained exactly what will happen - and admitted that explaining the project has been tough due to the huge number of acronyms used. Names and descriptions are often reduced to acronyms and abbreviations, which are faster to string together in a sentence but can end up sounding downright martian to the outside world.. Curiosity is loaded with the most . sophisticated instruments to study Mars' environment — with convoluted . names to match. 'Mastcam' refers to the pair of 2-megapixel color . cameras on the rover's 'head'. 'SAM', short for Sample Analysis at . Mars, is the mobile chemistry lab designed to sniff for carbon . compounds. 'ChemCam' stands for Chemistry and Camera, otherwise known as . the rock-zapping laser. 'RAD' is the radiation detector. 'EDL' is the entry, descent and landing, or as NASA has come to call . it: Seven minutes of terror. 'DSN' is the . Deep Space Network, a worldwide network of antenna dishes that . communicates with interplanetary spacecraft. Nominal means A-OK. Not so . for anomaly (translation: Houston, we have a problem.) 'It's kind of our own slang,' explained Michael Watkins (above), mission manager of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars project. 'It's a shorthand way to talk about these very complicated systems.' He added: 'Even folks from other missions have no idea what we're talking about." Even the rover's name can be complex. In the halls of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it's called MSL — short for Mars Science Laboratory. Spacecraft typically have technical names before being rechristened by the public through naming contests sponsored by NASA. For example: the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity that landed in 2004 were known as MER-A and MER-B for the longest time (MER is shorthand for Mars Exploration Rover.) MSL did not become Curiosity until 2009 when a sixth-grader from Kansas proposed the nickname. Still, there are some hard-cores who continue to use the scientific moniker. The dizzying naming system even extends to time. It takes Earth 24 hours to spin on its axis — the definition of a day. Mars spins more slowly than Earth — taking 24 hours and 39 minutes. To distinguish between Earth and Mars time, a Martian day is called a sol, Latin for "sun." Yesterday on Mars is yestersol. Newcomers often find there's a steep curve to master the technical language. 'It takes some time to pick it up,' said Ken Farley, a professor at the California Institute of Technology who is participating on his first space mission. Luckily, Farley said new shorthand words are added to the mission's internal website. Before Spirit and Opportunity launched, cultural psychologists worked with scientists to come up with a better way to communicate. The rules of Mars-speak put in place back then still lives on today. JPL scientist Deborah Bass, who worked on that mission, said it's important to talk with precision. But she said it's also essential not to alienate fans. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission members work in the data processing room beside Mission Control at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena . 'We're so jazzed about what we do,' Bass said. 'We can forget that not everybody has the same fundamental background as we do.' However, the team admit that while nowhere will extraterrestrial . vocabulary fly faster than in the JPL mission control room on landing . day, for the casual observer there is one simple tip - just look for the cheers or . tears. To reach its intended touch-down zone in a deep equatorial crater, the Curiosity rover must enter the atmosphere at a very precise point. A slight course correction - the fourth since launch - was made last Saturday, and mission scientists said the latest analysis indicates Curiosity will be no more than a kilometre from going straight down its planned "keyhole". The team is so confident it may abandon a planned final course correction on friday. 'We are about to land a small compact car on the surface with a trunk-load of instruments,' said Doug McCuistion, the head of Nasa's Mars programme. 'This is a pretty amazing feat getting ready to happen. 'It's exciting, it's daring - but it's fantastic," The $2.5bn mission is due to touch down at 05:31 GMT (06:31 BST) Monday 6 August; 22:31 PDT, Sunday 5 August. Engineers work on a model of the Mars rover Curiosity at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena . It will be a totally automated landing, as the vast distance between Mars and Earth means there is a 13-minute lag . in communications, making real-time intervention impossible. The team has devised a rocket-powered, hovering crane . to lower the rover to the surface in the final moments of its descent. The first black-and-white images of the surface taken by Curiosity . should be returned to Earth in the first hours after touch down, but the . mission team do not intend to rush into exploration. 'This is a very complicated beast," said Pete Theisinger, Curiosity's project manager told the BBC. 'The speech I made to the team is to recognize that on Sunday night at . [22:32 PDT], we will have a priceless asset that we have placed on the . surface of another planet that could last a long time if we operate it . correctly, and so we will be as cautious as hell about what we do with . it.' Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Lead Flight Director David Oh in the Mission Control room ahead of the landing of the Mars rover Curiosity. The team has also been experimenting using a full size replica of the rover, and has even created a 'martian park' in Pasadena so they can replicate the surface of the red planet. In mission control, the banks of screen scientists will use to monitor the landing were today unveiled, giving a unique glimpse into the mission. Ryan Mukai, telecommunications engineer, monitors the progress of the Mars Curiosity mission at NASA's Mars Science Laboratory .
Final preparations were underway at Nasa today as final approach to the red planet ahead of its expected landing on monday morning. Mission Laboratory in Pasadena - but have to explain each acronyms and abbreviations, which are faster to one simple tip - just look for the cheers or . to Earth in the first hours after touch down, but red planet. In mission control, the banks of