NASA’s Perseverance rover and the first-ever Mars helicopter will conclude a 300-million-mile journey Thursday but first, the Martian robots must survive the landing.
After launching in July from Cape Canaveral, the spacecraft carrying the rover and NASA’s 4-pound helicopter will come barreling into the Martian atmosphere at supersonic speeds before completing a series of maneuvers to slow down to 1.5 mph, landing on its six wheels.
This portion of the Mars 2020 mission, known as the entry, descent and landing, is the most dangerous. Get a breakdown of the landing timeline, minute-by-minute here.
NASA has the best success record with robotic landings on Mars but still, nearly 40% of all missions don’t make it. Tap here to read about the