UPDATE 2 - NASA's Perseverance Rover Lands On Mars In Search Of Ancient Microbial Life
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published February 19, 2021 | 05:40 AM
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2021) NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover landed on the Red Planet on Thursday, surviving a perilous 7-minute descent suspended by cables in the final minutes from a saucer-shaped spacecraft that slowed the plunge to walking speed before releasing the six-wheeled robot.
The touchdown, broadcast live on the internet by NASA tv, marked the beginning of a mission in which the rover will explore the dry-bed of an ancient lake and river delta for signs of microbial life that could have lived in a watery environment 3 million years ago.
Apart from its focus on Martian geology, the rover also includes devices to prepare for future exploration of the Red Planet, including a machine the size of a car battery that will attempt to make oxygen from Martian carbon dioxide, NASA said.
The rover also has a drill and other instruments to collect samples of Martian rocks and soil - and store them in sealed tubes for pickup by a future mission to ferry the debris back to Earth.
Strapped to the rover's underbelly, a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity will attempt to explore the nearby surface by navigating planet's thin atmosphere.
The rover is also equipped to look for supplies of underground water, needed if humans eventually travel to the planet's dry surface.
NASA said the descent began when the rover and its saucer shaped escort craft, enclosed in a cone-shaped capsule, hit the top of Mars atmosphere traveling at 12,500 miles per hour.
After four minutes, a parachute deployed to slow the descent to about 200 miles per hour, NASA said. The atmospheric entry vehicle then jettisoned the heat shield and dropped its cargo - allowing the saucer-shaped escort spacecraft to lower the rover on cables while slowing the descent to less than 2 mph for touchdown, it added.
NASA previously described the final seven minutes of the six-month journey from Earth as the most dangerous part of the mission, with no guarantee of Thursday's success.
President Joe Biden reacted to the landing after watching it from the Oval Office.
"Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance's historic landing possible. Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility," Biden said in a tweet.
Recent Stories
Tennis: ATP Barcelona Open results - 1st update
Swiatek's perfect 10 in Stuttgart as Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka
Arandu's roads closed due to flooding
Oil tanker catches fire in Islamabad’s Blue Area
Pakistan committed to ensure safety of foreign nationals: FO
Tennis: WTA Stuttgart results - 1st update
Four passengers injured as train hit an empty vehicle
Over- speeding bus crushed to death two bike riders
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
Iranians appear unfazed by Isfahan blasts
UAF celebrates Int'l Chinese Language Day
More Stories From World
-
Togo lawmakers approve contested political reform
2 hours ago -
NATO must choose 'whether we indeed are allies': Zelensky
2 hours ago -
US House to vote on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid package
2 hours ago -
Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran
3 hours ago -
IMF calls on EU to deepen single market integration to boost growth
3 hours ago -
Second Ecuadoran mayor killed ahead of anti-crime referendum: police
3 hours ago
-
Oil, gas drilling blocked in Alaska wilds as Biden seeks green cred
4 hours ago -
Man sets self on fire outside Trump trial
4 hours ago -
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
5 hours ago -
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
5 hours ago -
Iranians appear unfazed by Isfahan blasts
5 hours ago -
Ecuador mayor killed ahead of anti-crime referendum: police
5 hours ago