{"id":5127,"date":"2021-02-13T20:48:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T03:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secularhub.org\/blog\/?p=5127"},"modified":"2021-02-13T20:48:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-14T03:48:11","slug":"mars-2020-countdown-to-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secularhub.org\/blog\/2021\/02\/mars-2020-countdown-to-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars 2020 – Countdown to Landing"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

On Thursday, February 18, 2021<\/strong> at about 1:55pm MST the Perseverance<\/em><\/strong> rover and the Ingenuity<\/em><\/strong> helicopter drone will land on Mars! The NASA TV broadcast from Mission Control starts at 12:15pm MST.\u00a0

Watch live online<\/a> the events on Earth with “some” delay from Mars.<\/p>\r\n

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The Perseverance rover has four science objectives<\/a> that support the Mars Exploration Program’s science goals<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Looking for Habitability:<\/td>\r\nIdentify past environments capable of supporting microbial life.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Seeking Biosignatures:<\/td>\r\nSeek signs of possible past microbial life in those habitable environments, particularly in special rocks known to preserve signs of life over time.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Caching Samples:<\/td>\r\nCollect core rock and “soil” samples and store them on the Martian surface.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Preparing for Humans:<\/td>\r\n\r\n

Test oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

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