Mars 2020 Archives

April 19, 2021April 19, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

“You Wouldn’t Believe What I Just Saw:” Ingenuity Helicopter Flies Successfully on Mars

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this shot as it hovered over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA pulled off a Wright Brothers moment on Mars early today by successfully flying the tiny Ingenuity helicopter for approximately 40 seconds.

“We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,” said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity’s lead engineer, speaking to her colleagues gathered at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California to execute and monitor the flight.

April 9, 2021April 9, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance Takes a Selfie With Ingenuity. It’s Almost Time to fly

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover. This image was taken by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Perseverance is having a proud parent moment in this image, looking like it’s waiting with a child at the bus stop on the first day of school.

April 8, 2021April 9, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance Captured This Image of a “Rainbow” on Mars, but it’s just a Lens Flare in the Rover’s Camera

Did the Perseverance rover capture a rainbow on Mars? This image, from the rover’s left rear Hazard Camera, sure looks like it. But alas, no. However, film director JJ Abrams would be proud.

March 18, 2021December 11, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance’s Landing Seen in Full Color, Thanks to Citizen Science

Incoming! Mars 2020 - Lander Vision System Camera shows the view of Jezero Crater from above. Colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

A month on, we’re all still buzzing about the Perseverance rover’s perfect landing in Jezero Crater on Mars, back on February 18, 2021. Over the past few weeks, NASA has released more stunning imagery and footage of the landing, and since then the world-wide cadre of citizen scientists and image editing enthusiasts have been springing into action to enhance and augment all the incredible scenes captured by Perseverance’s collection of high-resolution cameras.

February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

There was a Secret Code in the Perseverance Parachute

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image during its descent to Mars, using its Parachute Up-Look Camera A. This camera is mounted on the spacecraft's backshell and looks up at the parachute. This image was acquired on Feb. 23, 2021 (Sol 2) at the local mean solar time of 10:27:31. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

A secret coded message was hidden on the gigantic parachute used to land the Perseverance rover safely on the surface on Mars. And no, it wasn’t a clandestine message to the Martians. It was a message of inspiration for us humans.

But it also came as a challenge.

February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance’s Landing … Seen From Orbit!

The Mars 2020 descent stage holding NASA’s Perseverance rover can be seen falling through the Martian atmosphere, its parachute trailing behind, in this image taken on February 18, 2021 by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL/UArizona

The HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has done it again.

The imaging team was able to capture the Perseverance rover as it descended through the Martian atmosphere, hanging under its parachute.

Stunning.

February 19, 2021March 9, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance has Landed. Here are its First Pictures From the Surface of Mars

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the area in front of it using its onboard Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera A. This image was acquired on Feb. 18, 2021 (Sol 0) at the local mean solar time of 20:58:24. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

They’ve done it again. After a journey of nearly seven months for the Perseverance rover, the Navigation and Entry, Descent and Landing teams successfully guided their intrepid traveler to a pinpoint landing inside Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18, 2021.

And within minutes of the landing, Perseverance sent back two images from the front and rear Hazard Avoidance Cameras, revealing its surroundings on the Red Planet.

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

InSight is Going to Try and “Hear” Perseverance Land on Mars From 3,452 km Away

NASA Artist's impression of Perseverance reaching Mars. At the point it enters the atmosphere, it will be travelling at more than 15,000 km/h. Credit: NASA

Now that the UAE’s Hope spacecraft and China’sTianwen-1 have successfully reached the Red Planet, next up is NASA’s Perseverance rover, set to land on February 18th.

Ten operational spacecraft are currently in orbit or on the surface of Mars, ready to welcome the new rover. But one spacecraft in particular, the InSight lander, will be listening closely for Perseverance’s dramatic entry, descent and landing – a.k.a. the Seven Minutes of Terror.

January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Thanks to Perseverance, We’re Finally Going to Hear What Mars Sounds Like

Many consider the various rovers we’ve sent to Mars as the next best thing to sending a geologist to the Red Planet. Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity have carried all the necessary equipment similar to what human geologists use on Earth, and are able to navigate the terrain, “see” the landscape with the various cameras, pick up rock and dust samples with scoops, and then analyze them with various onboard tools and equipment.

In addition to all those things, the new Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will add a “sense of hearing” to its robotic toolkit. The rover includes a pair of microphones to let us hear – for the first time – what Mars really sounds like.

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 by Evan Gough

This is What Perseverance’s Landing Site Looked Like Billions of Years Ago. See Why it’s Such a Compelling Target?

This illustration shows Jezero Crater — the landing site of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover — as it may have looked billions of years go on Mars, when it was a lake. An inlet and outlet are also visible on either side of the lake. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Today is a milestone in NASA’s Perseverance mission to Mars. At 1:40 pm Pacific time today, the rover will have traveled 235.4 million km (146.3 million miles). That means the spacecraft is halfway to Mars and its rendezvous with Jezero Crater. The spacecraft isn’t traveling in a straight line, and the planets are moving, so it’s not equidistant to both planets.

“Although we’re halfway into the distance we need to travel to Mars, the rover is not halfway between the two worlds,” Kangas explained. “In straight-line distance, Earth is 26.6 million miles [42.7 million kilometers] behind Perseverance and Mars is 17.9 million miles [28.8 million kilometers] in front.”

But today’s still a good time to take another look at Jezero Crater, and why NASA chose it as the mission’s target.