Mars landing news LIVE – Nasa ‘awestruck’ by Perseverance mission data as Rover sends first colour pics of red planet
NASA'S Perseverance rover has beamed back incredible first colour images of Mars after successfully landing on the Red Planet.
There was a pic of one of the space vehicle’s six wheels, taken by one of Perseverance’s colour Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) after its landing in the area known as Jezero crater.
It ended its seven-month journey to another world after touching down in a crater that was once a lake billions of years ago.
Here the six-wheeled machine will collect rock samples from the crater that will later be analysed for signs of extra-terrestrial life.
To pave the way for human missions to Mars, tests will be conducted to make oxygen out of thin air – the Red Planet’s tenuous and mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere.
Perseverance touched down at 3.44pm ET (8.44pm GMT) Thursday night.
Follow our Perseverance live blog for the latest news and updates...
TECHNOLOGY TO TAKE MAN TO MARS
Perseverance carries technology that will help pave the way for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
Nasa says: "As part of the spacecraft’s landing system, Terrain-Relative Navigation is the main reason Perseverance can explore a place as interesting as Jezero Crater.
"It will enable the descending spacecraft to quickly and autonomously comprehend its location over the Martian surface and modify its trajectory.
"This technology will provide invaluable assistance for both robotic and crewed missions landing on the Moon."
CONTINUED
"Perseverance won’t come back to the Earth, but the plan is to bring the samples that we collect back.
"In the meantime, we’ll be doing all of the science that any great rover mission would do.
"We are going to characterize the site, explore the geology, and measure the atmospheric and weather properties."
PROFESSOR DESCRIBES WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS MISSION
Jim Bell, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, has worked on a number of Mars missions.
He is the primary investigator leading a team in charge of one of the camera systems on Perseverance - and he has described what makes this Mars mission so special.
He told podcast The Conversation Weekly: "Perseverance is intended to be the first part of a robotic sample-return mission from Mars.
"So instead of just drilling into the surface like the Curiosity Rover does, Perseverance will drill and core into the surface and cache those little cores into tubes about the size of a dry-erase marker.
"It will then put those tubes onto the surface for a future mission later this decade to pick up and then bring back to the Earth."
PERSEVERANCE 'ESSENTIAL' TO SEND HUMANS TO MARS
Nasa's Perseverance landing on Mars is "essential" if we want to send humans to the planet, says an astronomer.
Hannah Barnyard, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, told the Express: "There is still a long way to go until human missions to Mars could be possible so it is likely there will be more robotic explorers before that happens.
"Rovers tell us more about the Martian environment which is essential if we are to put humans on the planet.
"Even once human missions begin, robotic explorers will be the companions of Martian astronauts scouting out areas of interest and performing tasks in potentially dangerous areas just as they do on Earth."
MARS LANDING STATS
The largest, most advanced rover NASA has sent to another world has touched down on Mars.
- It was a 203-day journey traversing 293million miles (472million km)
- The Mars 2020 mission launched July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida
- NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover is 'packed with groundbreaking technology'
- It's about the size of a car, weighing 2,263 pounds (1,026 kg)
- The Rover will shortly begin its two-year scientific investigation of Mars’ Jezero Crater
JOE BIDEN PRAISES 'HARD WORK' OF NASA TEAM
Joe Biden has shared a video of his call with the Nasa Perseverance team after its successful Mars landing.
The US president tweeted today: "On Thursday, I joined the world and watched in awe as the Perseverance Rover touched down on the surface of Mars.
"It was a remarkable feat — one made possible by the hard work and ingenuity of the team at @NASA. I called to congratulate them on their historic landing."
FIRST COLOUR IMAGE FROM MARS
This is the first high-resolution, colour image to be sent back by the Hazcams on the underside of Nasa’s Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Thursday night.
The space agency also released a dramatic image of the Mars Perseverance rover being lowered onto the surface of the Red Planet during its landing on Thursday.
The image, unveiled during a press briefing on Friday, was taken by the descent stage that placed the vehicle on the ground.
undefined NO E.T. ON MARS/VENUS
"We have not yet found evidence of past or present life on either Venus or Mars - or on any extraterrestrial body for that matter - although this fundamental question motivates our missions of exploration," says NASA.
One of the space agency's goals is to determine if Mars ever supported life.
This is based on "the idea that Mars and Earth may have been relatively similar worlds during their early histories, and as life arose relatively early on the Earth, whether life ever arose on Mars is a key question".
SAFE VS DANGER ZONES ON MARS
Perseverance landed in Mars' Jezero crater on Thursday - but how did it do it?
The rover used its Terrain-Relative Navigation technology to avoid hazards and find a safe place to land.
Nasa said: "In this graphic, the blue areas are considered safe zones and red are considered more dangerous.
"Perseverance’s landing spot is marked with a green dot."
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PERSEVERANCE LANDED IN MARS' JEZERO CRATER
Nasa's rover landed in the Jezero crater on Mars - in the Syrtis Major quadrangle.
It used its Terrain-Relative Navigation technology to avoid hazards and find a safe place to land.
THE FIRST IMAGE BEAMED BACK TO EARTH
This was the first image which Nasa's Perseverance beamed back to Earth.
The first images from the rover were a little grainy due to dust on the camera lens, but the rocky Martian surface is in clear view.
Nasa said better quality snaps will arrive in the coming days after the completion of initial checkups on its scientific instruments.
'ICONIC' PICTURES FROM THE RED PLANET
Chief engineer Adam Steltzner called the first pictures taken from Perseverance “iconic”.
He said the very first image was comparable to the shot of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon in 1969, or the Voyager 1 probe's images of Saturn in 1980.
NASA PERSEVERANCE TEAM 'AWESTRUCK'
The rover is shown in extraordinary detail just 6.5 feet (2 metres) off the ground, being lowered by cables attached to an overhead sky crane, the red dust kicked up by rocket engines.
“This is something that we’ve never seen before,” flight system engineer Aaron Stehura said at a news conference.
“It was stunning, and the team was awestruck.
“There’s just a feeling of victory that we were able to capture these and share it with the world.”
FIRST CLOSE-UP LOOK AT MARS
The world got its first close-up look at a Mars landing on Friday, as Nasa released a stunning picture of its newest rover being lowered onto the dusty red surface.
The photo was released less than 24 hours after the Perseverance rover successfully touched down near an ancient river delta, where it will search for signs of ancient life and set aside the most promising rock samples for return to Earth in a decade.
Nasa equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursdays descent.
FACTS ABOUT MARS
Here's what you need to know about the Red Planet...
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
- It is named after the Roman god of war
- The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here
- Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest
- Mars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth
- It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun
- So far, there has been 39 missions to Mars but only 16 of these have been successful
WHEN DID WE FIRST DISCOVER MARS?
Mars was first discovered in September 1610 - almost 411 years ago.
The red planet was found by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei - the first person known to use a telescope to make astronomical observations.
‘THE BEST IS YET TO COME’
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted this morning that “the best is yet to come”.
It shared a high-resolution image taken by Perseverance while landing on Mars.
WHEN DID PERSEVERANCE LAND ON MARS?
Nasa’s Perseverance rover finally touched down on the Red Planet on Thursday after an incredible seven-month journey.
The robot beamed back incredible first images of Mars after successfully landing on the Red Planet.
It ended its 190million-mile flight when it gently touched down in a crater that was once a lake 3billion years ago.
Here, the six-wheeled machine will collect rock samples from the basin that will later be analysed for signs of extra-terrestrial life.
Perseverance touched down at 3.44pm ET (8.44pm GMT) on Thursday.
HOW MARS COMPARES TO EARTH
There are huge differences between Mars and Earth.
- Size: 0.5 Earths
- Temperature: -62C
- Distance from Earth: 34miles are the closest point
- Travel: Seven months
undefined WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE ON MARS?
Mars is further away from the Sun than Earth, meaning it's a lot colder at its surface.
The average temperatures there is around -60C (-80F). The planet hits highs of 20C (68F) at the equator and lows of −153C (−243F) at the poles.
For comparison, the coolest temperature records on Earth is −89.2C (−128.6F) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983.
Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, and due to the low air pressure there the planet doesn't retain heat for very long.
GRAVITY ON MARS COMPARED TO EARTH
Mars has very low gravity. The gravity on the planet's surface is 62 per cent lower than on Earth, meaning colonists would bounce around like astronauts on the Moon.
It means a person who weighs 100kg on Earth would weigh only 38kg on Mars.
As well as moving a little differently, Martian migrants would have to deal with weakening and shrinking of their leg and back muscles caused by the lack of weight load on their bodies.
MORE CAMERAS THAN ANY MISSION
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission carries more cameras than any interplanetary mission in history.
It has 19 cameras on the rover itself and four on other parts of the spacecraft involved in entry, descent, and landing.
As with previous Mars missions, Mars 2020 Perseverance has raw and processed images available on the mission’s website.
The public can experience in high definition what it’s like to land on Mars – and hear the sounds of landing for the first time with an off-the-shelf microphone.
HOW FAR HAS THE SPACECRAFT TRAVELLED?
The distance travelled between Earth and Mars since the launch on July 30 is 293million miles.
This is equal to 471 million kilometres.
The time it takes radio signals to travel from Mars to Earth is about 11 minutes 22 seconds.
PRAISE FROM FANS
Social media users continue to praise the successful Mars landing.
And they have criticised those saying the mission is a waste of money.
One said on Twitter: "Can't believe people are calling this a waste of money!
Great work NASAPersevere! It's an immense achievement that benefits the entire human race!
"You should be proud! Thank you for giving hope and making people dream! You've inspired me to do what I do!"
GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE STUDY
Perseverance is collecting important data about Mars’ geology and climate.
Mars orbiters have been collecting images and data from Jezero Crater from about 200 miles (322 kilometres) above, but finding signs of ancient life on the surface requires much closer inspection, Nasa says. It requires a rover like Perseverance.
"Understanding Mars’ past climate conditions and reading the geological history embedded in its rocks will give scientists a richer sense of what the planet was like in its distant past.
"Studying the Red Planet’s geology and climate could also give us a sense of why Earth and Mars – – ended up so different."