NASA added 6 HD video cameras to its next Mars rover so we can all watch the first footage of a spacecraft landing on another planet

NASA’s next project, Mars 2020 mission is all set to be launched from our planet at the end of July. Built with approximately $2.4 billion and eight whole years of hard work, the rover is supposed to reach the Red planet on the Eighteenth of February.

Like the missions prior to it, the rover is supposed to take pictures of its descent. However, the change lies in the commercial cameras that have been installed to take a high definition video during not just descent, but also entry and other activities. 

These cameras are in addition to the weather monitoring station, EDLCAM hardware, 3D Camera, organic compound detectors to name a few.

The rover has been named Perseverance.

“This is going to be very exciting; it’s the first time that we have ever been able to see a spacecraft land on another planet.” says  Matt Wallace, deputy project manager.

The chief engineer of the Perseverance mission, Adam Steltzner had said, “We’ve got literally seven minutes to get from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars, going from 13,000 mph to zero in perfect sequence, perfect choreography, perfect timing,” in a 2012 NASA-JPL video.

READ MORE