After a seven-month journey to the red planet, the Perseverance rover is ready to touch Mart. We’ve covered the historic landing, as you can follow the dreaded “seven minutes of terror” live right here.
“Landing on Mars is not guaranteed, but we have been preparing for a decade to put the wheels of this rover on the surface of Mars and start working,” said Jennifer Trosper, project deputy director of the Mars 2020 mission of the Jet NASA Propulsion Laboratory. a statement.
In fact, space is hard, as the saying goes, and Mars, named after the Roman god of war, always presents a challenge for potential visitors.. Approximately 60% of all missions to Mars have failed, in what is a worrying reminder of the complexities involved. This next attempt will not be an exception, as NASA describes on Thursday landing as the most accurate so far. The rover will have to rely on untested navigation aids, while trying to avoid dangers such as rock fields, hills and the steep walls of Jezero Crater.
But the stage is set, and The $ 2.7 billion Perseverance rover is scheduled to hit the surface at 3:55 pm EST (12:55 pm PST) on Thursday, February 18th. Coverage on NASA’s live stream, which you can see below, begins at 2:15 pm EST (11:15 am PST).
We have provided the YouTube feed, but other channels that broadcast the show to include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily movement, Theta.TV, and the NASA application. Spanish speakers can follow the action here. Other interesting options include a pinso net of NASA mission control ia 360 degree current via YouTube. Post-landing briefing information is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. PST), which you can view here.
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Radio signals take about 11 minutes to travel the distance from Mars to Earth, which means that perseverance will have to do it all by itself. It also means that we will be behind the actual action on Mars during this time, which NASA has adjusted to its schedule. That said, mission controllers “may not be able to confirm these milestones at the indicated times … due to the complexity of communications in deep space, ”according to NASA.
Perseverance will plow in the Martian atmosphere at speeds of up to 19,500 km / h at 3:48 pm EST (12:48 pm PST). The next seven minutes of terror it will involve extreme heat, the deployment of a supersonic parachute and the separation of the rover from the heat shield and the rear casing. When it gets to the dirt—With the help of retouches and ligatures – perseverance will have slowed down to the point of walking.
Once the red dust has settled, Perseverance will take pictures of its surroundings and transmit them back to Earth. Mission controllers will also assess the rover’s health, in a process that is expected to last more than a month. During this time, Perseverance will deploy its stick, which will result in more images and possibly even a selfie. Mission controllers will also take the time to assess the state of the craft, a small helicopter taken for the trip.
Assuming all is well, perseverance will formally enter the scientific stage of the mission, as it will look for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover’s new home, Jezero Crater, was once covered in water and fed by a running river, making it an ideal environment for this robotic astrobiologist.
If all goes well, the rover will be the fifth to reach the red planet, being its predecessors Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. Fingers are firmly crossed and we are about to witness a historic landing and a fruitful one next chapter of our ongoing exploration of Mart.