NASA Countdown to the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Launch
On June 17 NASA leadership and a panel of scientists and engineers previewed the upcoming Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission.
Briefing participants included:
– NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
– Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington
– Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California
– Matt Wallace, Perseverance deputy project manager at JPL
– Luis Dominguez, Perseverance deputy electrical integration and test lead at JPL
– Omar Baez, launch director in NASA’s Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
The Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of past microbial life on Mars and characterize the planet’s climate and geology. It will also collect rock and soil samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. The mission is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:15 a.m. EDT July 20. It will land at Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
