Just minutes to NASA Perseverance vas sy landing on Mars, it sent back two historical images – our very first view of the red planet from the elusive Jezero Crater.
Percy, nicknamed the Rover, has the “seven minutes of fright“on Thursday – a series of events to land or break. A successful landing was announced just before 4pm ET from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
“Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance is safe on the surface of Mars, ready to start searching for the signs of past life!” Swati Mohan, a telemetry guidance, navigation and control officer at JPL, has as the rover landed. Social-distance flight engineers erupted in cheers and applause as they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Just moments later, scientists receive the first two photos of the Rover, with a rocky view of the Rover’s new home.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
One of the rover’s danger danger cameras, which mainly helps to drive, took the black-and-white shots. The camera is partially obscured by a clear protective cover. Later photos of the Rover will have a higher resolution.
Percy himself can also be seen in the first image – his large shadow announcing his arrival.
The photos point to one of the Rover’s first successes and show the team on earth that it came safely to Mars.
“Hello, world. My first look at my house forever,” whirled tweeted on arrival.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
President Joe Biden saw the rover land directly from the White House.
“Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance’s historic landing possible,” he said. tweeted. “Today has proven once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing exceeds the possibility.”
Scientists said they hoped to see ‘fairly spectacular’ video and audio footage as well as additional photos within the next few days.
The rover, NASA’s most sophisticated to date, will soon begin its hunt for signs of ancient life. Billions of years ago, the Jezero Crater was home to a huge lake, and Percy will be collecting monsters that will be the first to make the journey back to earth for scientists to investigate.
During the first month, they also plan to test a $ 80 million small helicopter called the 4.5-pound Ingenuity. It will attempt the first powered flight in the thin Marslug, a “moment of Wright brothers” in another world.