NASA’s ‘perseverance’ for researching Mars gets a smooth landing

After 7 month-long journey from the red planet, the Perseverance rover finally landed at its designated location on Mars, about 30 minutes before its estimated arrival. The rover is expected to be NASA’s new flag bearer for interplanetary research and has been assigned a multitude of tasks at its new home planet. 

Perseverance is NASA’s first mission that will search for microbial life on Mars and will explore Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake that existed 3.9 billion years ago.

Also Read: NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars

Like all rovers that have been on the planet, Perseverance will be sending in photos, which are essential for researching the terrain and other geological features of the planet, which will give insights about Mars’ past, reported CNN. 

On the contrary, the Perseverance rover will also be responsible for a lot of firsts on the red planet. The rover, which is as big as an SUV and weighs a ton, will be the first to record any kind of sounds on the planet’s surface. 

Moreover, Perseverance will also be deploying an aerial helicopter that weighs around four pounds, called Ingenuity. The copter will be airborne for a total of 20 seconds for its first flight on the red planet, reported CNN. 

Also Read: The search for life beyond Earth

Over the course of several years, Perseverance will attempt to collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, to be eventually sent back to Earth sometime in the 2030s for lab analysis.

Many space enthusiasts tuned in via NASA’s public TV channel, their website and app, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion or THETA TV to watch the rover’s landing.