The American rover Perseverance has landed on Mars
An illustration of the NASA rover as it approaches the planet Mars.
AP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
After a seven-month trip to space and a vertiginous descent of seven minutes, the NASA rover landed on Mars this Thursday evening.
Its mission: to learn more about a possible presence of past life on the Red Planet.
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The Perseverance rover landed on Martian soil after seven months of travel, announced Thursday the US space agency, a resounding success for NASA which marks the start of a mission lasting several years.
“Landing confirmed!
Exclaimed Swati Mohan, in charge of operations control.
In the control room of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, the teams present exploded with joy at the time of confirmation.
NASA immediately released an image taken by the rover there.
“
Hello world.
My first sight of the house that will be mine forever,
”tweeted the rover's official account to accompany the extraordinary black and white image, on which we can see the shadow of the vehicle projected on the ground.
Bonjour Monde.
My first look at my forever home.
#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X
- NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021
Jezero Crater, which scientists believe contained a lake 3.5 billion years ago, was the most perilous landing site NASA ever attempted.
Perseverance will be responsible for collecting evidence of ancient life on Mars.
The fifth rover to set foot on Martian soil
After entering at 20,000 km / h, friction with the air raised the temperature of the ship to 1,300 ° C.
The rover was protected by a heat shield,
which was only released after the opening of a huge
supersonic
parachute
.
Eight retro-rockets finished slowing it down before it deploys its six wheels, suspended along cables until it hits the ground.
NASA teams will spend the next few days checking that the rover and its many advanced equipment have not been damaged and are working properly.
► To read also: The “Perseverance” robot launched towards Mars in search of traces of life
Perseverance is only the fifth rover to set foot on Martian soil.
Since the first, in 1997, they have all been Americans, and one of them, Curiosity, is still active elsewhere on the Red Planet.
The first rock samples by Perseverance should begin this summer.
The sealed tubes will then have to be brought back to Earth by a future mission, in the 2030s, in order to be analyzed.
(
With
AFP)
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