NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will launch on July 30, at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT) aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The rover will take about seven months to travel to the Red Planet and, on February 18, 2021, will land in Mars’ Jezero Crater to search for signs of life, explore the planet’s geology, and so on.
“We will get closer than ever before to answering some of science’s longest-standing questions about the Red Planet, including whether life ever arose there,” said Lori Glaze, planetary science director at NASA Headquarters.
The @ulalaunch #AtlasV rocket carrying @NASAPersevere is seen illuminated by spotlights at Space Launch Complex 41. Launch slated for Thursday July 30 at 7:50 a.m. EDT. #CountdownToMars More ?- https://t.co/1C6QkuRetg pic.twitter.com/sRgsiEDfhn
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) July 30, 2020
The first interplanetary helicopter, Ingenuity, is ready for liftoff on a 7-month voyage to Mars.
Read more about the aeronautical innovators at @NASAJPL & @NASAAmes who worked together to prepare for @NASAPersevere‘s #CountdownToMars: https://t.co/eTtcX9Ao01 pic.twitter.com/X83dI03G0W
— NASA (@NASA) July 30, 2020
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover introduces a drill that can collect core samples of the most promising rocks and soils and set them aside in a “cache” on the surface of Mars.
The mission also provides opportunities to gather knowledge and demonstrate technologies that address the challenges of future human expeditions to Mars. These include testing a method for producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, identifying other resources (such as subsurface water), improving landing techniques, and characterizing weather, dust, and other potential environmental conditions that could affect future astronauts living and working on Mars.
