NASA’s Perseverance rover (and Ingenuity helicopter) are on track to land on Mars’ Jezero Crater today! Touchdown scheduled for 3:55pm Eastern. Perseverance will seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil). Ingenuity will be the first helicopter to fly on another planet.
All are welcome to join the excitement by participating directly in Mars’ research through Zooniverse projects AI4Mars and Planet Four. Also, check out the Adler Planetarium’s* YouTube livestream with astronomers, engineers, historians, and more starting at 1pm CST leading up to the landing: http://youtu.be/bYn0a8DHMXY.
More unusual Mars’ treasures to enjoy:
- Adler Planetarium Google Arts & Culture Exhibition: A Martian Sensation: Maps, delusion, and the Mars Canals
- Artist visualization of the flight of Ingenuity across the Jezero Crater, backed by 80’s synth pop (created by Adler astronomer, musician, and visualization artist)
*The Adler Planetarium is one of the homes to the Zooniverse web development and research team.
Daily Zooniverse 