Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2021

53 MARCH-APRIL 2021 T his high-resolution image shows one of the six wheels aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, which landed on Feb. 18, 2021. The image was taken by one of Persever- ance’s color Hazard Cameras (Haz- cams). [NASA/JPL-Caltech] failed missions past, this same man- ner of delivery was equally flaw- less nine years prior for Curiosity. By the end-of-feed, the official NASA YouTube channel reported 12 mil- lion views for the descent, landing, and celebration at Mission Control upon confirmation and delivery of the first two images. These first two images, taken through the transpar- ent lens covers of two engineering cameras at the front and back of the rover, revealed a successful landing on a flat area with several exposed rocks ready for analysis and, in the distance, a view of the ancient river delta that was the intended landing target for the mission. During the post-landing press brief- ing, NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen shouted for joy “Here’s for the contingency plan!” as he ripped the small stack of pa- pers that served as the roadmap for an unsuccessful landing. Further analysis of the landing po- sition revealed that Percy was about 2 km to the southeast of the target delta, near-or-at the bound- ary of two regions known as the “mafic floor unit” and “olivine- bearing unit.” This itself was excel- lent news for geologists, as this landing area marks the boundary region between two different types of rocks and features. In short or- der, the actual landing location was determined and released. Within 24 hours, color images of the un- capped engineering cameras were reported. In a feat of timing, the same Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that aided in finding an ideal land- ing site for Perseverance’s mission also captured Percy’s descent after parachute deployment above its final landing location. The follow- ing days were a wealth of diagnos- tic data and, of course, stunning images. With the scientific mission now active, we await the many downloads from what is currently the most sophisticated machine to ever exist on a planet that is, so far as we now know, entirely popu- lated by only machines.