Perseverance rover gives high-definition panoramic view of landing site

NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or “head,” 360 degrees, allowing the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover’s second panorama ever, as the rover’s Navigation Cameras, or…

NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Provides Front-Row Seat to Landing, First Audio Recording of Red Planet

New video from NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover chronicles major milestones during the final minutes of its entry, descent, and landing (EDL) on the Red Planet on Feb. 18 as the spacecraft plummeted, parachuted, and rocketed toward the surface of Mars. A microphone on the rover also has provided the first audio recording of sounds from Mars. From a report: From…

‘7 minutes of terror’: Perserverance rover’s nail-biting landing phase

Seven months after blast-off, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will have to negotiate its shortest and most intense phase on Thursday: the “seven minutes of terror” it takes to slam the brakes and land the Perseverance rover on a narrow target on the planet’s surface. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-minutes-terror-perserverance-rover-nail-biting.html…

‘7 minutes of terror’: Perseverance rover’s nail-biting landing phase

Seven months after blast-off, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will have to negotiate its shortest and most intense phase on Thursday: the “seven minutes of terror” it takes to slam on the brakes and land the Perseverance rover on a narrow target on the planet’s surface. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-minutes-terror-perserverance-rover-nail-biting.html…

Life as we do not know it: Astrobiology and the Mars 2020 mission

Life as we know it has never been found anywhere in our solar system or universe, other than on Earth. But that does not necessarily mean it is not out there. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-life-astrobiology-mars-mission.html…

Scientist proposes a new timeline for Mars terrains

A Southwest Research Institute scientist has updated Mars chronology models to find that terrains shaped by ancient water activity on the planet’s surface may be hundreds of millions of years older than previously thought. This new chronology for Mars, based on the latest dynamical models for the formation and evolution of the solar system, is particularly significant as the days count…

Get ready for Perseverance’s landing on Mars February 18

Some call attempts to land on Mars “7 minutes of terror.” The Perseverance mission will provide the most detailed video and photos of a landing yet. We’ll watch ourselves land on another planet, for the first time ever. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/get-ready-nasa-perseverance-landing-feb2021…

How Mars 2020 will help bring part of the red planet back to Earth

Out in the cold, empty void beyond Earth, NASA’s latest Mars mission is hurtling at 43,000 miles per hour toward the Red Planet. The mission, Mars 2020, passed the halfway point of its journey in October 2020 and is expected to touch down on solid ground on February 18. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mars-red-planet-earth.html…

Mars 2020 Perseverance rover to capture sounds from the red planet

When the Mars Perseverance rover lands on the red planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will not only collect stunning images and rock samples; the data it returns may also include some recorded sounds from Mars. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-mars-perseverance-rover-capture-red.html…

7 things to know about the NASA rover about to land on Mars

With only about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) left to go in its 293-million-mile (471-million-kilometer) journey, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is nearing its new planetary home. The spacecraft has begun its approach to the Red Planet and in 43 days, on Feb. 18, 2021, Perseverance will blaze through Mars’ atmosphere at about 12,100 mph (19,500 kph), touching down gently…