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NASA will use a “celestial crane” to gently lower Perseverance to the surface of Mars. Artist’s concept via NASA.
Landing on Mars is difficult. So you’ll want to watch February 18, 2021, when Perseverance (formerly called Mars 2020) will hopefully become the first man-made object to land on the Red Planet from the Mars Insight lander in 2018. It’ll be the first rover since Curiosity has landed. in 2012. Due to its landing in Jezero Crater, just north of the equator of Mars, Perseverance carries a multitude of scientific instruments to collect soil samples and look for signs of ancient life. It is equipped with advanced audiovisual technology to allow us to see and hear – for the very first time – what it is like to touch another world. It will be exciting! Live NASA TV coverage of the event will begin on February 18 at 2:15 p.m. EST (7:15 p.m. UTC); landing will take place at approximately 3:55 p.m. EST (8:55 p.m. UTC). Look here.
The 2021 lunar calendars are here. There are a few left. Order yours before they go!
Perseverance’s innovative cameras and microphones will capture much of its pivotal entry, descent and landing process. This process, sometimes called by space engineers seven minutes of terror, is considered by many to be the most critical and dangerous part of the mission. The rover will hit the Martian atmosphere as it travels at nearly 19,312 km / h, crossing the sky as its protective heat shield helps slow it down. Then, at an altitude of about 1 mile (1.5 km), the descent module will trigger its motors, while a new terrain-related navigation system will trigger to identify a safe landing point. Essentially, it will scan and analyze the terrain below, then match it up with maps in its database and prepare for touchdown.
A 21m diameter parachute will deploy to further slow the craft, causing all systems to crawl, before the Celestial Crane begins its task of lowering the rover to the ground. The Celestial Crane is the same gliding landing system used by Curiosity, and is a completely self-contained system designed to give rovers a smooth, smooth landing (hopefully).
From a design point of view, the rover is very similar to the Curiosity rover, currently in Gale Crater, but has different scientific instruments. While Curiosity focuses on finding evidence of past habitability, which it has done, Perseverance is looking for direct evidence of life itself. This will be the first mission since Viking 1 and 2 landers in the late 1970s / early 1980s to do so.
Perseverance’s flashy new cameras will capture much of this whole process. A camera mounted on the rear hull of the spacecraft is pointed upward. This will record a view of the parachutes deploying as it slows down to land. Then below is a downward-facing camera on the descent stage, which will film its first tactile contact with the ground on Mars. This suite of technologies will provide us with the most detailed video and photo recordings of the neighboring world landing to date. Lori Glaze, who heads the Planetary Sciences Division of NASA’s Directorate of Science Missions, told reporters:
We’re going to be able to watch ourselves land for the first time on another planet.
However, there will be no live retransmission of the footage, as we are used to with events on the International Space Station and rocket launches from Earth. The reason is due to a delay in the data relay from Mars to Earth, which is slower than even old dial-up connections. But we can get a glimpse of perseverance on the ground using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which can at least share low-resolution images with us shortly after landing. Additionally, we will also have live streams from mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The images of the Curiosity landing left us with iconic images (enter Bobak Ferdowsi). Of course, the coronavirus protocols will still be in effect at Mission Control, but even a pandemic is unlikely to dampen the celebration. Deputy Director of Project Perseverance Matt Wallace said:
I don’t think Covid is going to be able to stop us from jumping up and down and banging our fists. You’re going to see a lot of happy people no matter what, once we get this thing safely to the surface.
Researchers from NASA-JPL’s main mission control celebrating the 2012 Curiosity landing. Bobak Ferdowsi, a systems engineer, pictured left, has been made famous in other shots for his signature mohawk. Image via NASA / Daily Mail.
To date, there have only been eight successful landings on Mars: Viking 1 and Viking 2 (both 1976), Pathfinder (1997), Spirit and Opportunity (both 2004), Phoenix (2008), Curiosity (2012 ) and InSight (2018).
The Soviet Union is the only other country to have successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars. It was in 1971 and 1973.
On the other hand, once there, missions to Mars can last for years, and Earth’s robot rovers have spent years rolling around Mars. With the Perseverance mission, for the first time, NASA will try something new; he’ll drop a small helicopter into the thin Martian air. The helicopter is called Ingenuity. He will attempt to locate around the small planet, trying to target places of interest for future missions to Mars.
NASA chose Jezero Crater as the landing site for the Perseverance rover with good reason. Scientists believe the area was once inundated and was home to an ancient water river delta more than 3.5 billion years ago. The channels of the river spread over the crater wall and created a lake, carrying clay minerals from its surroundings. Microbial life could have lived in the crater during one or more of these wet periods, and if so, signs of their remains could be found in the sediment of the lake bed or shore. Scientists will study how the region formed and evolved, look for signs of past life, and collect rock and soil samples from Mars that may preserve these signs. The landing site selection process involved mission team members and scientists from around the world, who carefully screened over 60 candidate locations. But after a comprehensive five-year study of potential sites, each with their own unique characteristics and appeal, Jezero rose to the top.
In anticipation of the Perseverance landing, NASA offers landing resources, ways to participate, social opportunities, and more. Download posters, stickers, fact sheets, mission patches and more. Register for a virtual landing event, where you can connect online with other space enthusiasts and ask NASA experts your hottest questions. Get classes and activities for students, or even virtual passport stamps, all available through their website here.
Conclusion: Due to its landing in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover will carry scientific instruments to collect soil samples and look for signs of ancient life. It will also use audiovisual technology to allow us to see and hear what it is like to touch another world for the first time. Live NASA TV coverage of the event will begin that day at 2:15 p.m. EST (7:15 p.m. UTC); landing around 3:55 p.m. EST (8:55 p.m. UTC).
Read more from CNET: Rover NASA Mars Perseverance: What to Expect on Landing Day
Hot Wheels Perseverance hits stores ahead of Mars rover
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