NASA Lauches Rover Perseverance For Mars,To Look For Signs Of Ancient Life

NASA Launches Rover Perseverance For Mars, To Look For Signs Of Ancient Life

New Delhi: NASA on Thursday on an astrobiology mission launched the biggest, most sophisticated Mars rose ever built a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and later, a long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for the evidence of ancient life.

Into the morning sky in the world's third and fina Mars launch of the summer NASA's Perseverance rode a mighty Atlas V rocket. Last week China and the United Arab Emirates got a head start, but all three missions should reach the red planet in February after a journey of seven months and 300 million miles.

The firsts stage separation took place a few minutes later and Perseverance prepared for the second burn to put it on a trajectory towards Mars.

🚀 We have LIFTOFF to Mars! The @ulalaunch Atlas V takes flight with our @NASAPersevere rover. The #CountdownToMars continues as Perseverance begins her 7-month journey to the Red Planet! pic.twitter.com/3RTL1CR4WS

— NASA (@NASA) July 30, 2020

Perseverance will reach the Red Planet on February 18, 2021, if all goes by the plan becoming the fifth rover to complete the voyage since 1997. China launched its Mars over last week, which should arrive by May 2021.

Including NASA's curiosity, by next year Mars could, therefore, have three active rovers that have traversed 23 kilometers of the Red Planet since it landed in 2012.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic the launch also took place, which has hit the United States harder than any country.'

Jim Bridenstine NASA chief said that this made it even more important than the launch went ahead as planned.

"We have a history of doing amazing things in the most challenging times, and this is this is no different," he said, minutes before take-off.

It is faster with thoughts-set of six wheels, has more computing power, and can autonomously navigate 200 meter per day.

Once on the surface, NASA will deploy the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter a 1.8-kilogram aircraft that will attempt to fly in an atmosphere that is only one percent the density of Earth's.

The scientist believes that more than three billion years ago the planet was much warmer than today and was covered in rivers and lakes condition which could have ed to simple microbial life.

"What we are looking for is likely very primitive life, we are not looking for advanced life forms that might be things like bones or fern fossils," explained project scientist Ken Farley.

NASA has chosen the Jezero crater as its landing sites a giant impact basin just north of the Martian equator.

Whereas the scientist believes that the ancient river delta could have collected and preserved organic molecules and other potential signs of the microbial life.

Around the world, more than 350 geologists, geochemists, astrobiologists, atmospheric specialists and other scientists are taking part in the mission.

(Inputs from AFP)

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