You did it again. After a journey of almost seven months, the Perseverance rover teams successfully led their intrepid traveler to a precise landing in the Jezero crater on Mars on February 18, 2021.
And within minutes of landing, Perseverance sent back two images from the front and rear hazard avoidance cameras, revealing the area around the Red Planet.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover took this image of the area in front of it with the integrated camera A to avoid danger in the front left. This image was taken on February 18, 2021 (Sol 0) at the local mean solar time of 20:58:24. Photo credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
I love the first picture above from the Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera A because it shows the shadow of Perseverance on Mars. For me this picture says: “I’m here, we made it!”
Below is the view of the second image that the rover was reflecting back from the rear right hazard avoidance camera. It shows everything that planetary rover scientists like to see: rocks to study and an instantly flat place to drive around.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover took this image of the area behind it with its integrated camera to avoid danger to the rear right. This image was taken on February 18, 2021 (Sol 0) at the local mean solar time of 20:59:31. Recognition: NASA / JPL-Caltech
For the first time, the rover teams were able to quickly determine where Perseverance had landed. This is because part of Perseverance’s new landing system was a new navigation package that took pictures of the landing area and compared them to maps to find a safe place to touch down. “This is finally like a landing with your eyes open,” said NASA scientist Swati Mohan, who provided the play-by-play during NASA’s livestream of the landing.
Rumor has it that more images will be released today, maybe even some from Entry Descent and Landing (EDL). Another rumor has it that NASA may have until Monday to release the video and audio that the rover’s landing system recorded. Audio from one of the rover’s microphones (read more about it here) is paired with full color video recorded by the EDL cameras. In this way, viewers can experience what the landing on Mars looks and sounds like for the first time. So stay tuned!
#ICYMI @NASAPersevere landed on Mars yesterday! You can find all the details about landing here:
Originally tweeted by NASA Langley Research Center (@NASA_Langley) on February 19, 2021.
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.