NASA's Perseverance rover: Experts discuss Mars landing
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The Mars rover is nearing the end of its six-and-a-half month voyage through space and faces the most challenging hurdle yet: the landing. NASA’s Perseverance will plunge into the Red Planet’s paper-thin atmosphere at breakneck speeds, targetting a 28-mile basin known as Jezero Crater. Scientists are certain Perseverance is equipped with the right tools to determine whether life was ever present in the crater.
Mars Landing: What you need to know about the NASA mission
- Perseverance is the fifth NASA rover launched to Mars
- The rover will land in Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed
- Perseverance will collect rock sample for return to Earth by 2031
- NASA expects to confirm the rover’s touchdown by 8.55pm GMT (3.55pm EST)
- You can watch the landing live on Express.co.uk and NASA TV
Perseverance is expected to touch down on Mars after a nail-biting seven-minute landing sequence dubbed by NASA the “seven minutes of terror”.
Because there is an 11-minute delay in communications between Earth and Mars, the rover will attempt to land without external guidance.
The Mars landing has touted as the toughest but most ambitious mission to Mars yet.
Perseverance is preceded by the Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in August 2012 and is still going strong.
Wherever you are in the world, you can watch the Mars landing live online here.
And follow Express.co.uk below to see all of the latest news and updates from Mars.
4pm update: Perseverance braces for ‘unbearable landing sequence
It will take NASA’s Mars rover about seven minutes to descend through the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
During this sequence, Perseverance will act autonomously and without interference from the outside world.
TV scientist and particle physicist Brian Cox wished the rover good luck but said it will be a white-knuckle experience.
He tweeted: “This will be magnificent and absolutely unbearable to watch as always ….. ! Good luck @NASAPersevere!”
Others have also shared their excitement about the Mars landing on social media.
One person tweeted: “Planning a day that includes supervising my third-grader’s zoom lessons, catching up on grading, giving a midterm exam, reading 40 applications for a hiring committee, attending two Zoom meetings, and watching the Mars Rover landing. #MarsPerseverance”
A second person said: “Godspeed to NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover.”
Perseverance will answer the most exciting of questions – are we alone?
The primary goal of the Mars landing is to explore Jezero Crater for evidence of ancient alien life.
Perseverance will collect and analyse rock samples for chemical biomarkers – potential signs life once existed in the crater.
Scientists believe Jezero once flowed with water when Mars resembled a young Earth some 4 billion years ago.
If water was present on the surface, it stands to reason so was simple, microbial life.
Hannah Barnyard, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, told Express.co.uk: “The question of is there any other life in the Universe is one that excited most people.
“If there is evidence to suggest life once existed on our next-door neighbour, it indicates life may be prevalent throughout the Universe.
“The discovery of life on another planet would not only change the scientific community but would impact the entire global consciousness as we comprehend the fact that we are not alone.”
Jezero crater: Where Perseverance will search for alien life
The NASA rover will land inside of ancient lakebed and impact crater called Jezero.
The crater was selected by NASA’s scientists because it once flowed with water and was the site of an ancient river delta.
Jezero was selected from among 60 other candidate locations on Mars.
NASA said: “After the exhaustive five-year study of potential sites, each with its own unique characteristics and appeal, Jezero rose to the top.”
Jezero measures about 28 miles across and sits on the western edge of the Isidis Planitia plain.
The features are located just north of the Martian equator.
Perseverance will land about 2,300 miles away from where Curiosity touched down in 2012, in the Gale Crater.
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