NASA on Monday released a spectacular video of the Mars landing of its Perseverance rover.
We can see the deployment of the supersonic parachute, the Martian ground approaching and the rover being placed on the ground.
It is the first that such images have been recorded.
Nasa on Monday released a spectacular video of the landing on Mars of its rover Perseverance, the first of its kind, after the mission's arrival on the red planet on Thursday, in search of ancient life.
Just over three minutes long, the published video reveals the images of several cameras located in different places on the module, after its entry into the Martian atmosphere: one shows the deployment of the supersonic parachute, another, located under the rover, the Martian ground approaching, and two other views show the rover gradually deposited on the ground, suspended by three cables.
However, no sound could be recorded during the vertiginous descent, Nasa said.
Your front-row seat to my Mars landing is here.
Watch how we did it. # CountdownToMarspic.twitter.com / Avv13dSVmQ
- NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021
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"Images that we have dreamed of for years"
"This is the first time that we have been able to capture an event like a landing on Mars," Michael Watkins, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where the rover was built, told a press conference.
"It's really fantastic."
“These images and videos are what we have dreamed of for years,” added Allen Chen, who was in charge of the landing for NASA.
They will be used by NASA teams to better understand what happens during such a landing.
A little rocking, a little engine throttling, and a gentle lowering to the ground.
@NASAJPL Entry, Descent, and Landing lead explains what @NASAPersevere saw as she touched down on the surface of Mars: pic.twitter.com/gc7NdC0od2
- NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2021
The rover was protected by a heat shield at its entrance, at a speed of 20,000 km / h, in the atmosphere.
We can also see this shield dropped on the surface of Mars on the video.
Eight retro-rockets then finished slowing the vehicle, and Martian dust can be seen propelled under their effect.
The cameras are standard commercial cameras, which have been added without being connected to the rover's system so as not to disturb it.
The landing maneuver was perilous and the site chosen, the crater of Jezero, the most risky ever attempted, because of its relief.