'7 minutes of terror': Perseverance rover's nail-biting landing phase
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 09:40
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Seven months after blast-off, NASA's Mars 2020 mission will have to negotiate its shortest and most intense phase on Thursday: the "seven minutes of terror" it takes to slam the brakes and land the Perseverance rover on a narrow target on the planet's surface.
Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) begins when the spacecraft carrying Perseverance strikes the Martian atmosphere at nearly 12,500 miles per hour (20,000 kilometers per hour).
It ends around seven minutes later with the rover at rest on the surface.
Touchdown on the Jezero Crater is scheduled for 3:55 pm US eastern time (2055 GMT). Weather conditions so far appear favorable in the Martian northern hemisphere spring, but nothing is taken for granted.
"This is one of the most difficult maneuvers that we do in this business, and almost 50 percent of the spacecraft that had been sent to the surface of Mars have failed," Matt Wallace, the mission's deputy project manager said.
NASA rover streaks toward a landing on Mars
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 09:04 Write a comment
A NASA rover streaked toward a landing on Mars on Thursday in the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on the red planet.
Ground controllers at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, settled in nervously for the descent of Perseverance to the surface of Mars, long a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft. It takes a nail-biting 11 1/2 minutes for a signal that would confirm success to reach Earth.
The landing of the six-wheeled vehicle would mark the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around the planet on successive days last week.
An interactive map to explore Jezero crater
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 09:00 Write a comment
Explore the landing site of NASA’s Perseverance rover and travel to scenic panoramas with this new interactive tool based on ESA Mars Express and NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data. View on your mobile phone, and the rotation of the scene will follow the movements of your device!
Scientists look ahead to the search for past Martian life with Perseverance
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 04:41 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — On the eve of the landing of the rover Perseverance on Mars, scientists are looking ahead to the work it will do searching for evidence of past life on the planet and collecting samples for return to Earth.
Is There a Satellite Inside?
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 01:37 Write a comment
Every day, nearly everyone on Earth does something that involves a satellite. Most of them never know it. That’s kind of cool – but also kind of frightening.
If people who benefit from your products and services don’t even know they exist, our commercial prospects are pretty dim.
Op-ed | Space initiatives in Africa offer a canvas of opportunity
Wednesday, 17 February 2021 01:08 Write a comment
More than ever before, the promise and potential in space is available to those with the ambition to reach for it. Nowhere is this story more exciting and compelling than in Africa.
Considering the goals and priorities detailed in the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, the socio-economic and professional development many African nations seek can be facilitated and accelerated by space activities.
Raytheon to challenge Lockheed Martin’s acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 22:23 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Raytheon Technologies plans to formally oppose Lockheed Martin’s proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne, Raytheon’s CEO Gregory Hayes said Feb. 17.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s engines are used by both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in tactical and strategic missiles the companies make for the U.S.
NASA delays launch of planetary defense mission
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 21:21 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA will delay the launch of a mission designed to test one technique for deflecting a potentially hazardous asteroid, although that delay won’t affect the spacecraft’s arrival at its target.
NASA announced Feb. 17 that it will postpone the launch of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission from its primary launch window of July 21 to Aug.
NASA rover attempting most difficult Martian touchdown yet
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 17:50 Write a comment
Spacecraft aiming to land on Mars have skipped past the planet, burned up on entry, smashed into the surface, and made it down amid a fierce dust storm only to spit out a single fuzzy gray picture before dying.
Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet.
The rover named Perseverance is headed Thursday for a compact 5-mile-by-4-mile (8-kilometer-by-6.4-kilometer) patch on the edge of an ancient river delta.
BAE Systems positioning for growth in military GPS following Collins acquisition
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 16:53 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — BAE Systems announced on Feb. 17 that it won the largest share of a $552 million deal the Space Force awarded to three companies in November to design and manufacture advanced GPS receivers that provide positioning, navigation and timing to U.S.
NASA’s China exclusion could mean missed opportunity for Mars InSight
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 16:22 Write a comment
HELSINKI — As NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover barrels through the Martian atmosphere this week and jettisons ballast that would otherwise doom its landing, the U.S. space agency’s two-year-old InSight lander will be listening intently, collecting data that could help scientists better understand the planet’s composition.
Russia, China to sign agreement on international lunar research station
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 16:14 Write a comment
HELSINKI — Russia is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with China to cooperate on a vision for an international lunar research station.
Bosnia village with link to Mars enthralled by rover landing
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 16:13 Write a comment
Europe is recruiting astronauts: Here's what it takes to become one
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 15:10 Write a comment
For the first time in 11 years, the European Space Agency (Esa) is recruiting new astronauts. Applications will open on the 31 March 2021 for eight weeks, followed by a six-stage selection process to identify the next generation of European astronauts.
By 2030, humans will once again walk on the surface of the Moon, travel to Mars and potentially enjoy sub-orbital holidays. The new space era will provide enormous benefits to all of us. It will push technologies as we find ways to live sustainably beyond planet Earth, it will create exciting jobs and it will generate new socioeconomic opportunities.
Recruiting new astronauts is the first step into this new era of human space exploration. Many people may have dreamed of becoming an astronaut since childhood, but do you have what it takes?
The criteria
Becoming an astronaut is not simple, nor is it easy. Esa is looking for candidates with different profiles and backgrounds. However, there are some minimum requirements.
Out with the old, in with the new and a stroll around the Station
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 14:00 Write a comment
A new year is traditionally a time to reflect and make some space for new beginnings. As many people on Earth have been making resolutions to finally eat healthier, exercise more, or pick up a book instead of turning on the television, however, there is little time for rest and reflection aboard the International Space Station.