After seven months of long journey, NASA’s Perseverance Rover successfully landed on Mars on February 18, 2021.
The entire mission was controlled from NASA’a Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. This is NASA’s fifth and most advanced Rover that has been sent to Mars. The engineer responsible for the Perseverance Rover’s entry, descent and landing is an Indian-American, Dr Swati Mohan.
The Rover is equipped with seven primary science instruments, the most cameras ever sent to Mars.
The Mars 2020 mission was launched on July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance Rover will collect samples from Mars and return them to the Earth.
The Rover will investigate the rock and sediment of Mars Jezero’s ancient lakebed and river delta to characterize the region’s geology and past climate. Scientists have determined that 3.5 billion years ago the crater had its own river delta and was filled with water.
This will allow the scientists on Earth to study samples collected by Perseverance, to search for definitive signs of past life, if life might have once existed beyond Earth.
Perseverance will investigate the Jezero region for fossilized remains of ancient microscopic Martian life, taking samples along the way.
