The new Mars rover, scheduled to launch in July, is most appropriately named “Perseverance.” Despite budget complications and the global COVID-19 pandemic, NASA is confident that the six-wheeled rover will still take off this summer.
According to division director Lori Glaze, the rover is on NASA’s shortlist of most critical projects and the team is committed to sticking to their July 17 launch date.
The team is installing the final instruments on the rover and, if all goes well, it will touch down on the red planet in February 2021 to search for signs of life along an ancient dried up river delta.
This news is a reminder of exciting things to come as we focus on fighting the global coronavirus pandemic. If you want to learn more about Mars while you hole up at home, consider taking NASA’s virtual tour of the red planet we discussed last week.
