"This was the best so far," says Matt Wallace, who has previously worked on five other missions to Mars.
NASA Rover landing on Mars
Being far away made things more difficult
Covid has threatened the entire mission, NASA officials say.
Whether it is people cleaning equipment or those who supply nitrogen, the epidemic stops everything.
Scientists had to travel from California to Florida to launch, which is another difficulty as many people try to stay home to limit the spread of the deadly virus.
"The team, like all of you, are anxious," says Mike Wallace.
"They worry about their parents, grandparents, and their children who are out of school."
Perseverance carries on board a metal plate symbolizing the epidemic and its impact on the planet.
"I've worked from my own laundry room for the past several months," adds Jennifer Trosper.
"Sometimes, people can't hear me because the washing machine is working," she adds.
"This is not how we design the Mars mission," she continues.
When will the helicopter take off?
It will be about 10 Martian days - or Mars days that are about 40 minutes longer than Earth days - before NASA plans to deploy its helicopter on board.
It will be the first distant flight on another planet, and it is one of the most exciting elements of Project Perseverance.
Scientists say about five flights of the helicopter, dubbed Ingenuity, have been planned over the next 30 days.
Mars is our laboratory now
Mars is our laboratory now, says the scientist at today's press conference proudly.
You will study perseverance, "how planets form and how they evolve, and Mars is a great place to answer these questions," says Jennifer Trosbear.
Get ready for an amazing Picture.
picture taken by rover
"For the first time, we'll see ourselves in an HD video of looting on another planet," says Matt Wallace.
"We think we've taken, hopefully, some great videos. It has a microphone too," he says.
A still image of the landing stage, looking down at the rover, may be available as soon as tomorrow.
But he says the first video will likely not be shown until Monday.
Sand dunes should be avoided
Scientists say the spacecraft has landed near the dune field, and it may need to find a way to get around it in order to reach the delta that NASA hopes to study.
It remains to be seen which path the rover will take, as scientists are still trying to determine the exact location of the perseverance
"Those seven minutes are still very tough for me at the moment," says Allen Chen, an engineer with the Entry, Descent and Descent Systems Program.
"The car is traveling in the roller coaster, and so are you," he continues.
“You guess yourself again as you go. These things have already happened. It's crazy,” he says.
It was a long way to get here, "said Ken Farley, the project scientist.
He described the mission as a "decades-long relay race" through space.
Farley would like to thank all of the thousands of scientists who have participated in the Mars mission over the years, including those who no longer work with the program now but have played pivotal roles over the past decade.
"We're really excited to move forward with this," he says.
He says the first two images of perseverance show rocks that appear to be about 10 cm long, possibly some of the first rocks examined by perseverance.
The photos also show it showing the ancient delta, which perseverance will explore in the coming months.
"It looks like Mars," he jokes.
"When all good things happen, it feels like you're dreaming," says deputy project director Jennifer Trosper.
"And I feel like I'm dreaming today."
"If all goes well," she adds, a mission over the flight will soon allow scientists to access more images - and even video - of perseverance.
"We think we're facing southeast, based on shadows," she says, adding that the batteries in the rover are currently 95% charged.
“Everything looks great,” she says.
0 Comments