If NASA successfully lands its fifth rover on Mars on Thursday, it will have delivered the Red Planet’s first microphones, its first aircraft, more cameras than ever before and a life-detecting duo known as SHERLOC and WATSON.
The Perseverance rover will also hopefully complete the initial step in an estimated 10-year effort to return samples of Martian rock back to Earth-bound researchers.
The rover carries a drill that can collect around 40 core samples, some 30 of which will be returned to Earth in the 2031 timeframe though that plan could change.
With luck, however, scientists won’t have to wait a decade for evidence of early Martian life.
NASA Offers Opportunities for Media to Engage with Mars Perseverance Rover Landing
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ NASA will host virtual news briefings, live shows, and activities the week of Feb. 15 to discuss events surrounding the landing of its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Landing on the Red Planet will occur about 3:55 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 18. Live landing commentary will begin at 2:15 p.m. on NASA Television, the agency s website, the NASA app, and YouTube.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the focus will be on virtual opportunities for the media and public, with in-person opportunities onsite at NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California limited to members of the media who already have been credentialed.