Explanation:
What would it look like to land on Mars?
To better monitor the instruments involved in the
Entry, Decent, and Landing of the
Perseverance Rover on
Mars last week,
cameras with video capability were included that have now returned their images.
The featured 3.5-minute composite video begins with the opening of a
huge
parachute
that dramatically slows the speeding spacecraft as it enters the
Martian atmosphere.
Next the heat shield is seen separating
and falls ahead.
As Perseverance descends, Mars looms large and its surface becomes
increasingly detailed.
At just past 2-minutes into
the video,
the parachute is released and Perseverance begins to land with dust-scattering rockets.
Soon the
Sky
Crane takes over and
puts Perseverance down softly, then quickly jetting away.
The robotic Perseverance rover will now begin exploring ancient
Jezero Crater, including a
search for
signs that life once existed on
Earth's neighboring
planet.
