NASA’S Perseverance rover lands on Mars in search of past life
NASA’s “Perseverance” rover, announced its landing on Martian soil through its official Twitter account which stated: “Hello, world. My first look at my forever home,” the robot “Perseverance”, left Cabo Cañaveral (Florida) 6 months ago with the purpose of studying, searching, and collecting past traces of life in the neighboring planet.
Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021
About the size of a compact car, “Perseverance” is equipped with seven sensor systems developed over six years ago to help identify and collect samples to investigate life on the red planet.
The moment Perseverance lands on Mars, February 18, 2021.
A camera aboard the descent stage captured this shot. [Photo NASA / JPL-Caltech]
Previous missions
The “Perseverance” rover, aims to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to bring back to earth. It is the fifth vehicle of the US space agency to reach the Red Planet.
The first was the Sojourner, a Mars Pathfinder mission-wheeled vehicle that, remotely controlled from Earth, drifted over the Martian surface in 1997.
Furthermore, they were followed by Spirit, which landed in 2004 and sent the first photo of the Martian surface, and Opportunity, which provided data suggesting that there was once water on the Red Planet.
Let alone, in 2012 Curiosity landed to check, as Perseverance will do, if there was ever life on the fourth planet in the Solar System.
Credit [NASA/JPL-Caltech]
Finally, “Perseverance’s” mission will last at least one Martian year, of 687 days.
