HOUSTON, TEXAS: NASA's Perseverance rover survived a landing phase to touch down on the surface of Mars and ready to check for signs of life on the red planet.
Here goes! Lighting the engines on my “jetpack” for final descent. Wheels down in less than a minute.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/AQKPEBGr0o
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021
Operations lead Swati Mohan confirmed the touchdown at the mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
US President Joe Biden congratulated the team for their historic feat.
Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance’s historic landing possible. Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility. pic.twitter.com/NzSxW6nw4k
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 18, 2021
Perseverance will attempt to collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, to be eventually sent back to Earth for further research.
Perseverance weighs a ton, is equipped with;