Harry Pettit, Senior Digital Technology and Science Reporter
15 Feb 2021, 10:49
Updated: 18 Feb 2021, 20:46
Harry Pettit, Senior Digital Technology and Science Reporter
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NASA S Mars rover Perseverance hits the final stretch of its seven-month journey from Earth this week, beginning what engineers at the US space agency are calling its seven minutes of terror .
The six-wheeled rover is set to emit a radio alert as it streaks into the thin Martian atmosphere, and by the time that signal reaches mission managers some 127million miles (204million km) away, Perseverance will already have landed on the Red Planet – hopefully in one piece. Follow our Mars landing live blog for up the minute updates from Perseverance.
Success will hinge on a complex sequence of events unfolding without a hitch from inflation of a giant, supersonic parachute to deployment of a jet-powered "sky crane" that will descend to a safe landing spot and hover above the surface while lowering the rover to the ground on a tether.
NASA Perseverance Rover Faces Seven Minutes of Terror Before Landing on Mars
Perseverance is expected to take seven minutes to descend from the top of the Martian atmosphere to the planet s surface. By Reuters | Updated: 15 February 2021 11:15 IST
Perseverance may set the stage for scientists to conclusively show whether life has existed beyond Earth
Highlights
Advanced power tools will drill samples from Martian rock and seal them Perseverance is the fifth and most sophisticated rover vehicle by NASA
When NASA s Mars rover Perseverance, a robotic astrobiology lab packed inside a space capsule, hits the final stretch of its seven-month journey from Earth this week, it is set to emit a radio alert as it streaks into the thin Martian atmosphere.
Nasa s Perseverance Mars rover to endure 7 minutes of terror before landing this week thesun.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesun.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
When NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance, a robotic astrobiology lab packed inside a space capsule, hits the final stretch of its seven-month journey from Earth this week, it is set to emit a radio alert as it streaks into the thin Martian atmosphere.