A town quite remote heard Perseverance Premium This NASA handout illustration shows a descent illustration to Mars, of the spacecraft containing NASA's Perseverance rover. (Photo: AFP) Share Via Read Full Story By the time you read this, either the rover will be safely settled on the planet’s surface, or it will be destroyed. Indeed: The plan is that Nasa’s Perseverance rover will touch down on Mars at about 2.30am IST on Friday, 19 February. So yes, when you read this, you will likely know its fate. With any touchdown on another celestial body—like our own Chandrayaan from 18 months ago—there’s substantial uncertainty in the operation. Will the craft withstand the heat on entry into the atmosphere? How will it decelerate from the speed it has cruised at for months? Can it land gently enough so that nothing is damaged?