Perseverance Astrobiology Rover Lofted Atop Its Ride To Mars

The ULA payload fairing with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover secured inside is lifted high up inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 7, 2020.
Inside the VIF, the payload fairing will be secured on the ULA Atlas V rocket. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V 541 rocket from Pad 41 on July 30. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.

The rover’s seven instruments will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

KSC-20200707-PH-KLS01_0082 Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Larger image

Astrobiology