This week, if everything goes well, NASA’s Perseverance Rover will touch the surface of Mars and begin its research program. The mission cost over $2.5 billion and is seen as the most complex to date.
Perseverance landing on Mars (credit: NASA/JPL)
NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities and events as the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover nears entry, descent, and landing in the Jezero crater, with touchdown scheduled for approximately 3:55 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.
The 1-ton rover should cover tens of kilometers on the planet’s surface in the coming years and complete the first part of a mission that aims to bring samples of rock and Martian soil to Earth after 2030.
A helicopter drone called Ingenuity will also be tested on the site, as well as an instrument tha