Today at 23:56 Moscow time, the Perseverance rover successfully landed on the surface of Mars. The device has already transmitted the first images from the surface of the Red Planet. The landing was broadcast live on the NASA YouTube channel.
The Perseverance rover is part of the Mars 2020 mission launched from Earth on July 30, 2020. The main goal of the mission is to assess Mars for its fitness for life. The device will collect, analyze and prepare surface samples for sending to Earth, as well as look for traces of life on Mars. Another important task assigned to the rover is to conduct tests for the production of oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, which should help in preparing for the landing of man on Mars. Perseverance will also operate in the Jezero crater area.
The device is equipped with cameras and two microphones, as well as seven scientific instruments, including a planetary instrument for X-ray lithochemistry, a radar imager for a subsurface experiment, a multispectral stereoscopic instrument, and a device for Raman and fluorescence scanning of a habitable environment for searching for organic and chemical substances. In addition, the rover is equipped with the Ingenuity helicopter drone, which can fly independently up to 600 meters.
