NASA engineers recreate 49ers' reception after landing on Mars

The San Francisco 49ers may have a 2-9 record this year, but that does not mean that no one has watched them.

After landing the NASA InSight lander on the surface of Mars on Monday, two engineers, Brooke Harper and Gene Bonfiglio, celebrated with a handshake that may sound a little familiar to the 49ers' fans.

Harper, a supporter of the Chiefs, said they copied the celebration between 49ers receivers Marquise Goodwin and Kendrick Bourne after Goodwin had a touchdown against his Chiefs in the third week.

"We knew we were sitting together in the control room, and we thought it would be fun for both of us," she said. "We saw something we liked from a previous game and we kind of imitated it."

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Bonfiglio, a fan of the Patriots, said it had taken them weeks to perfect the handshake.

"We started practicing and breaking down the film about five or six weeks ago," he said. "We had to film in slow motion so we could watch it and break it down."

The InSight lander is designed to pierce the surface of Mars to help scientists study the interior of the planet.

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It took the lander six months to reach Mars. It was the first boat to land on the Red Planet since the launch of NASA's Curiosity robot in 2012.

Eric Ting is a personal editor of SFGATE. Send him an e-mail at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter

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