Photos: NASA
The first panoramic images taken by the Perseverance rover have been released by NASA. The stunning images were taken just two days after the rover landed in the Jezero Crater and were captured by the rover's hi-tech onboard camera system.
The panorama was created on Earth from 6 individual photographs taken by Perseverance. NASA also released images of the rover's descent.
This is the first panorama image snapped by NASA's Perseverance rover. The image (which is made up of six images) was taken on Feb. 20, 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The main goal of the rover is to examine the Martian surface and explore it for signs of life. The area in which the rover landed, Jezero Crater, is believed to have previously been a river that could potentially have been harbouring lifeforms around 3.5 billion years ago. Perseverance will also try to capture audio from Mars, the first rover ever to do so.
The perseverance mission will last for approximately 1 Martian year, 2 Earth years, and be the most in-depth analysis humans have ever had of the 'red-planet'.
It is widely speculated that because we now know Mars at one time had running water, an atmosphere, and a temperature that could allow life to thrive, that the planet may very well have had alien lifeforms living on it.
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement:
"This video of Perseverance's descent is the closest you can get to landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit. It should become mandatory viewing for young women and men who not only want to explore other worlds and build the spacecraft that will take them there, but also want to be part of the diverse teams achieving all the audacious goals in our future."
NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk, added:
"For those who wonder how you land on Mars -- or why it is so difficult -- or how cool it would be to do so -- you need look no further. Perseverance is just getting started, and already has provided some of the most iconic visuals in space exploration history. It reinforces the remarkable level of engineering and precision that is required to build and fly a vehicle to the Red Planet."
Dark rocks. Light rocks. Hole-y rocks.
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2021
Ken Williford, @NASAPersevere deputy project scientist, describes some of the initial observations made by @NASAJPL teams about what the rover has captured from the Martian surface: pic.twitter.com/kcDrQMqS3D
Now that you’ve seen Mars, hear it. Grab some headphones and listen to the first sounds captured by one of my microphones. 🎧https://t.co/JswvAWC2IP#CountdownToMars
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021
It was earlier revealed that Perseverance is carrying a 'family portrait' of all the other rovers that have so far landed on Mars. It is kept as a sticker on the vehicle and contains an image of the Sojourner rover, the twin Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Curiosity rover.
[h/t: SPACE.com]
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