2024-03-28

South Plains Astronomy Club

Observing Under The Dark West Texas Skies

NASA's newest rover has safely landed on Mars after almost 300,000,000 miles of travel from Earth. The hardest part is the last few miles, called the "Seven Minutes of Terror" where the probe uses the atmosphere to slow from 12,000 mph interplanetary speed to 2 mph and a soft touchdown. The complicated sequence of events include 79 pyrotechnic charges that must go off precisely in groups to release major parts like the heat shield, aeroshell, and parachute.

NASA’s newest rover has safely landed on Mars after almost 300,000,000 miles of travel from Earth. The hardest part is the last few miles, called the “Seven Minutes of Terror” where the probe uses the atmosphere to slow from 12,000 mph interplanetary speed to 2 mph and a soft touchdown. The complicated sequence of events include 79 pyrotechnic charges that must go off precisely in groups to release major parts like the heat shield, aeroshell, and parachute.

Perseverance Rover selfie-PIA24428
Perseverance Rover selfie-PIA24428

For more coverage, see

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8865/touchdown-nasas-mars-perseverance-rover-safely-lands-on-red-planet/

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8866/nasas-perseverance-rover-sends-sneak-peek-of-mars-landing/