The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has succeeded in landing the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet. The complete landing was streamed live where the rover went through its final phase to reach the Red Planet from Entry, Descent, and Landing phases – also known as the seven minutes of terror.
NASA’s biggest, heaviest, cleanest, and most sophisticated six-wheeled robot ever launched into space can now freely roam the Jezero Crater to collect samples from the once water-rich river delta.
The Perseverance now joins the Curiosity Rover which landed in 2012. China’s Tianwen-1 is also expected to land in May, marking the second country to ever land on Mars. NASA will also begin conducting the first-ever flight on a foreign planet using the Ingenuity helicopter.
Watch the crew at NASA let out a huge cheer over their computer monitors in the video below.
Touchdown confirmed. The #CountdownToMars is complete, but the mission is just beginning. pic.twitter.com/UvOyXQhhN9
— NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021