NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft will soon land on Mars after a nearly seven-month journey that covers about 300 million miles of space.

This is the most advanced rover ever sent to the Red Planet, aiming to land on the Jezero Crater on February 18. The Jezero Crater is an ancient delta that can hold evidence of past life.

Ultimately, we plan to return the rock samples collected by Rover. But before that happens, NASA must make a bold landing.

After all, landing on Mars is not an easy task. According to NASA, only about 40% of missions sent to Mars are successful (by space agencies).

If all goes well, everyone on Earth will be able to see and hear later what the landing on Mars will look like. This mission has more cameras than any other interplanetary mission in history, including 19 cameras on the rover, 4 cameras on the rest of the spacecraft, and a microphone mounted on the side of the spacecraft. I will.

Patience also brings in a helicopter called Ingenuity. It is lined up to be the first aircraft to fly and control on another planet. The goal is for the helicopter to make at least one flight on Mars within 30 days.

When does the NASA rover land on Mars?

NASA’s Patience Rover will land on Mars on February 18, 2021, at 3:55 pm. EDT.

On February 18, 2021, the radio signal will take about 11 minutes and 22 seconds to return from Mars to Earth.

What are the “7 minutes of terror”?

The most intense part of the mission to date has been entry, descent, and landing on Mars.

During the seven minutes, often referred to as the “7-minute horror,” the spacecraft slows down from about 12,100 mph when entering the Martian atmosphere to about 2 mph when landing.

According to NASA, here’s what will happen during entry, descent, and landing

1.  About 240 seconds after the rover enters the atmosphere: The parachute spreads and the vehicle eventually slows down to about 200 mph.
2.   When it reaches about 6,900 feet above the ground, the rover falls from the rear shell and takes over the landing stage propelled by missiles.
3.   Landing stage when starting the engine: Moves to one side to avoid hitting the parachute and the back cover falling off
4.   When the landing stage slows to about 1.7 mph, the “sky lift” operation begins.
5.   About 12 seconds before landing, about 66 feet above the water’s surface: The landing stage lowers the rover with a cable about 21 feet long.
6.   When perseverance senses that the wheel has touched the ground, Rover quickly cuts the cable, flies into the landing stage, and lands on the surface at a safe distance.