This video depicts key events during entry, descent, and landing that will occur when NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars February 18, 2021.
In the span of about seven minutes, the spacecraft slows down from about 12,100 mph (19,500 kph) at the top of the Martian atmosphere to about 2 mph (3 kph) at touchdown in an area called Jezero Crater.
Perseverance will seek signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust), characterize the planet’s geology and climate, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
The mission launched to the Red Planet on July 30th, 2020.
Much of the footage below was shot in 2019 as the spacecraft was being assembled at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Mars 2020 is also part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
For more information about Perseverance, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/perseverance
Filed under: Mars
