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NASA’s Perseverance rover has less than 100 days to arrive on Mars and search for fossilized evidence of extraterrestrial life, the space agency said.
In a statement on Tuesday, NASA said the rover has 166 million miles to travel until it touches the Jezero de Mars crater on February 18, 2021 at 3:43 p.m. EST. If the landing is successful, NASA’s JPL will receive a confirmation approximately 11.5 minutes later.
“While we call the six and a half month trip from Earth to Mars ‘cruise’, I assure you there isn’t a lot of croquet on the lido deck,” said project manager John McNamee in the press release. “Between checking the spacecraft and planning and simulating our landing and surface operations, the entire team is on time, working on our exploration of Jezero Crater.”
This illustration of Mars 2020 spacecraft in interplanetary space was generated using images of NASA’s eyes on the solar system. The image comes from the midpoint of the mission between Earth and Mars. (NASA / JPL-Caltech)
HOW DOES THE ROVER MARS PERSEVERANCE GET TO THE RED PLANET?
There have been a number of accomplishments on the rover this week, including confirmation that the system used to lower it to Mars is in “good working order” (November 9); keep abreast of PIXL and SHERLOC instruments (November 10); and the analysis of the Lander vision system, carried out on Wednesday.
The next phase of the mission will begin on November 16, when a five-day simulation of surface operations, including driving and sample collection, is performed.
After that, another update will come on December 18, when “the team plans to perform a course correction maneuver, using the eight thrusters on the cruise stage to fine-tune the spacecraft’s path to Mars.” , added NASA.
NASA has released a real-time look to see where the rover is at all times.
NASA PERSEVERANCE ROVER WEARING ‘SPECIAL’ HIDDEN MESSAGE IN MARCH
The $ 2.1 billion rover will also come with the first helicopter, known as Ingenuity, which will allow researchers to understand the viability and potential of heavier-than-air vehicles on the Red Planet. In August, NASA powered Ingenuity’s six lithium-ion batteries.
Once Perseverance lands at Jezero Crater, it will join the still operating Curiosity rover and the now deceased Opportunity rover on the Red Planet.
The duration of the mission on the surface of the red planet is at least one Martian year, or about 687 days. During his stay, he will perform a number of tasks, including searching for fossilized evidence of alien life.
NASA’s long-term goal is to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.
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James Rogers of Fox News contributed to this story.
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