NASA shares new video of Mars rover landing, first audio recordings from planet’s surface
ByMichelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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SEE: NASA shares video of Mars rover landing (NCD)
ByMichelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
NASA has shared a high-quality video of the Perseverance rover’s descent to Mars, as well as a 3D image of the landing site and the first audio recording of the Red Planet.
According to The Associated Press, the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory unveiled the footage of Thursday’s landing at a news conference Monday and posted the clips online.
“The real footage in this video was captured by several cameras that are part of the rover’s entry, descent and landing suite,” reads a description of the video on YouTube. “The views include a camera looking down from the spacecraft’s descent stage (a kind of rocket-powered jet pack that helps fly the rover to its landing site), a camera on the rover looking up at the descent stage, a camera on the top of the aeroshell (a capsule protecting the rover) looking up at that parachute, and a camera on the bottom of the rover looking down at the Martian surface.”
In addition, officials released audio of the wind blowing on Mars’ surface.
“A microphone attached to the rover did not collect usable data during the descent, but the commercial off-the-shelf device survived the highly dynamic descent to the surface and obtained sounds from Jezero Crater on Feb. 20,” NASA said in a news release. “About 10 seconds into the 60-second recording, a Martian breeze is audible for a few seconds, as are mechanical sounds of the rover operating on the surface.”
In a statement, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science, called the descent video “the closest you can get to landing on Mars without putting on a pressure suit.”
“It should become mandatory viewing for young women and men who not only want to explore other worlds and build the spacecraft that will take them there, but also want to be part of the diverse teams achieving all the audacious goals in our future,” he said, according to the news release.
While on the Red Planet, the Preservance will help with the “search for signs of ancient microbial life,” the release said.
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life This photo made available by NASA shows the first image sent by the Perseverance rover showing the surface of Mars, just after landing in the Jezero crater, on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life This photo made available by NASA shows the second image sent by the Perseverance rover showing the surface of Mars, just after landing in the Jezero crater, on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this photo provided by NASA, members of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover team watch in mission control as the first images arrive moments after the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this photo provided by NASA, members of NASA's Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The landing of the six-wheeled vehicle marks the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around the planet on successive days last week. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this photo provided by NASA, members of NASA's Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The landing of the six-wheeled vehicle marks the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around the planet on successive days last week. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this photo provided by NASA, members of the Perseverance Mars rover team study data on monitors in mission control, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The landing of the six-wheeled vehicle would mark the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around the planet on successive days last week. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this illustration made available by NASA, the Perseverance rover casts off its spacecraft's cruise stage, minutes before entering the Martian atmosphere. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this illustration made available by NASA, the spacecraft containing the Perseverance rover slows down using the drag generated by traveling through the Martian atmosphere. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life In this illustration made available by NASA, the Perseverance rover, with its heat shield facing the planet, begins its descent through the Martian atmosphere. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life A full-scale model of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity is displayed for the media at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life Images from Nasa are streamed live showing the landing of NASA's Perseverance on Mars, shown on Piccadilly Lights in central London, Thursday Feb. 18, 2021. The Mars rover landing mission begins it's search for traces of life after the successful landing, to explore and collect samples for future return to Earth. Eros statue top left. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life Lori Glaze, Director of NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Planetary Science Division, left, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator Science Mission Directorate, and Michael Watkins, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory react after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Photos: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator Science Mission Directorate, raises his arms, center, with Lori Glaze, Director of NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Planetary Science Division, right, as they walk with members of NASA's Perseverance rover team after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
