02/17/2021
The countdown has begun at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the landing of Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, which is orbiting Mars and is on track to land on the Red Planet tomorrow, Feb. 18, 2021...🪐❤
Since launch, it has traveled over 291 million miles (468 million kilometers), and has about 1,260,000 miles (2,035,000 kilometers) left on its journey to Mars. Mission controllers expect to receive confirmation on Feb. 18 that it has hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at around 3:48 p.m. EST (12:48 p.m. PST) and touched down gently on the surface at around 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST).
"Perseverance is NASA's most ambitious Mars rover mission yet, focused scientifically on finding out whether there was ever any life on Mars in the past," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator at NASA. "To answer this question, the landing team will have its hands full getting us to Jezero Crater - the most challenging Martian terrain ever targeted for a landing."
Launched in July 2020, Perseverance is the latest in a series of missions focused on studying Mars' habitability, seeking signs of past microbial life, collecting and caching samples and preparing for future human missions 🪐 ❤
@ Nasa Kennedy Space Center In Florida
