No potatoes in sight.
NASA’s Martian rover Perseverance has successfully (and safely) landed on Mars. The lander made its landing in the Jezero crater earlier today (3:55 p.m. ET, 12:55 p.m. PT).
Seconds after the landing was confirmed, a NASA spokesperson said that “[Perseverance is] alive on the surface of Mars”. It will now proceed to roam the planet, searching for evidence that Mars once housed microscopic life.
Perseverance is the fifth NASA rover to successfully reach Mars. It’s predecessors were Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, with Curiosity being the only remaining of them still images, in operation.
That said, in lander missions, and especially unmanned ones, a safe landing is never a guarantee. The lander had to endure entry speeds of about 12,100 mph (19,500 km/h), and relied on new navigational systems to pick out a safe landing spot in an otherwise perilous area.
The plutonium-powered rover sent back its first images after landing, showing off the dusty, rock-strewn terrain around it. The next few weeks will be a real test of Perseverance’s systems; the $2.7 billion machine, along with its companion helicopter drone Ingenuity, needs to be assessed. Photography will be its first test, as the rover is equipped with 23 high definition cameras. Also on the agenda is the very important first battery recharge, after which its robotic arm will see testing.
Pending identification of its precise location, this two week period will also see the first drive, with photos taken throughout. Once all of these tests are done, the real mission begins… with a test of Ingenuity. Then the science part of the mission will truly begin. Perseverance will collect samples and deposit them in a chosen location on the surface of Mars for a subsequent mission to pick them up.
Source: Gizmodo
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