Off To Mars
Perseverance Mars 2020 mission (credit: JPL/NASA)
The Perseverance rover was successfully launched today off on its journey to Mars.
According to NASA, once the rover has successfully landed in Jezero Crater it will explore a location that was likely habitable in the early history of Mars. The crater once contain a large lake with in flowing waters and an outflowing river. The bus-sized rover carries an array of scientific instruments and cameras to gain some of the most details information about Mars so far attempted. Perseverance will seek indications of past life, collect interesting rock cores and soil samples for later return to Earth, and demonstrate new technologies for the future human and robotic exploration.
Jezero Crater, Mars (credit: NASA/JPL-CalTech)
The JPL robotic lab also carries a technology demonstration to see if a helicopter can fly across the Martian landscape in the thin atmosphere, 1% the pressure on Earth. Named Ingenuity, this will be the first flight of an aerial drone on another planet.
In seven months, Perseverance will attempt to successfully land inside the crater and can begin its explorations.
WHB