At 7:50 am EST on July 30, 2020, the Perseverance successfully launched into orbit. It will spend the next 7 months in orbit and reach its destination on February 18th of next year.
This is the 3rd of three launches that have happened in the last two weeks. It started with the United Arab Emirates with its first-ever launch. The purpose of that launch is to gather data around the inner atmosphere. The UAE undertook this as a way to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
China was next to launch just a few days ago. China has an ambitious plan to orbit and roam some of the surfaces in hopes to bring back a plethora of data. With the launches happening so close it will be intriguing to see what the time difference is when they arrive.
Perseverance was the last of the three to go. The mission for this craft is to land and send out a rover to collect data. Searching for signs of ancient life on the planet will be a top priority. The other mission is to collect samples of the surface to bring back from the red planet. The bringing back of these samples is not set to happen on this mission but are to be left in a certain spot so they can be brought back on another mission. Perseverance will attempt to spend an entire Maritan year there to better understand the variations in its temperatures and seasons.
there was a short time after launch where the ship had to enter safe mode (insert PC jokes here) as there was a spot on the ship that was slightly cooler in temperature then it should have been. The issue was short-lived and the craft resumed course.
“With the launch of Perseverance, we begin another historic mission of exploration,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “This amazing explorer’s journey has already required the very best from all of us to get it to launch through these challenging times. Now we can look forward to its incredible science and to bringing samples of Mars home even as we advance human missions to the Red Planet. As a mission, as an agency, and as a country, we will persevere.”
Source: Nasa
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