Failure could take on many forms next week when NASA’s next-gen rover, Perseverance, reaches the surface of the Red Planet. Here’s what needs to go right and how things could quickly go sideways when Perseverance tries to make its much-anticipated landing.
Why NASA calls landing the Mars rover 7 minutes of terror 01:26 (CNN)In 22 days, NASA s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on Mars in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient life that may have been on the red planet in the past.
The rover, which is the largest and most advanced rover NASA has ever built, will act as a robotic geologist, collecting samples of dirt and rocks that will eventually be returned to Earth by the 2030s.
For that reason, Perseverance is also the cleanest machine ever sent to Mars, designed so it doesn t contaminate the Martian samples with any microbes from Earth, providing a false reading.
February 19, 2021 at 8:23 am
NASA’s Perseverance rover has safely landed on the surface of Mars. The rover touched down in Jezero Crater on the Red Planet at 20:55 UTC on 18 February 2021.
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The successful landing was the culmination of a 203-day journey from Earth that saw it travel a total of 472 million km. The Perseverance Mars rover team look on in Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the mission’s first images of the Red Planet arrive. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
In a familiar sight for anyone who closely follows NASA’s robotic space probe missions, planetary scientists and engineers erupted into applause once the successful landing had been confirmed.
After 7 minutes of terror, NASA s Perseverance rover will begin an epic journey on Mars next month localnews8.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localnews8.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.