An Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover vehicle takes off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 30. Ready for its launch later in the month, the Mars-bound rover will touch terra firma no more. For the mating process, the spacecraft was hoisted 129 ft aloft by a 60-ton roof hoist inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. Forecasters predicted an 80% chance of acceptable weather. To each one of them I want to say, we got here together, and we'll make it to Mars the same way. NASA’s Perseverance rover is one step closer to its journey to Mars, and has now been attached to the rocket that will carry it to the Red Planet. The car-sized rover was boosted into space atop a … We're obviously humbled that we are entrusted with that, and we do our very best to make sure we do everything we can to make this successful. Based on the scientific objectives, nearly 60 proposals for rover instrumentation were evaluated and, on 31 July 2014, NASA announced the payload for the rover. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a devoted amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia. "NASA has successfully sent eight spacecraft to the surface of Mars, four stationary landers and four rovers. Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, sitting atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday at 6:50 a.m. CDT. On Thursday morning, NASA launched its new Mars rover, Perseverance, on a six-month journey to the Red Planet. The nosecone containing the rover and other spacecraft elements have been fixed to an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.There, engineers made the physical and electrical connections that will remain between the booster and spacecraft until about 50 to 60 minutes after launch, when the two are pyrotechnically separated and Perseverance is sent on its way.Perseverance is scheduled to launch on 30 July at the earliest and will land in Jezero Crater near the Martian equator in February 2021.The launch window extends to the 15 August.Nasa's Perseverance Mars rover has been attached to the top of the rocket that will send it toward the Red Planet.These are external links and will open in a new windowThe robot rover will search for signs of past life on the Red Planet.In addition to scouting for signs of past biology, the mission also carries a drone-like helicopter that will demonstrate powered flight in the Martian atmosphere.John McNamee, project manager for the mission at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, said the mating had been "special" because "there are so many people who contributed to this moment".Have you been getting these songs wrong?The Perseverance rover mission is Nasa's most ambitious hunt for life on Mars since the 1970s.He added: "To each one of them I want to say, 'we got here together, and we'll make it to Mars the same way'. NASA's Perseverance rover will look for signs of past life in a region of Mars where the ancient environment is believed to have been favorable for microbial life. When they say 'ignition,' do not blink, because you're gonna miss it. ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno told CBS News that the Atlas 5, equipped with four strap-on solid-propellant boosters for extra power, will generate 2.3 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, giving the relatively lightweight Perseverance a particularly speedy sendoff.If all goes well, the samples will then be launched into Mars orbit by a NASA rocket, picked up by another European spacecraft and brought back to Earth in 2031.