Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2021 February 23

                     Video: Perseverance Landing on Mars
           Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Mars 2020 Mission Team

   Explanation: What would it look like to land on Mars? To better monitor
   the instruments involved in the Entry, Decent, and Landing of the
   Perseverance Rover on Mars last week, cameras with video capability
   were included that have now returned their images. The featured
   3.5-minute composite video begins with the opening of a huge parachute
   that dramatically slows the speeding spacecraft as it enters the
   Martian atmosphere. Next the heat shield is seen separating and falls
   ahead. As Perseverance descends, Mars looms large and its surface
   becomes increasingly detailed. At just past 2-minutes into the video,
   the parachute is released and Perseverance begins to land with
   dust-scattering rockets. Soon the Sky Crane takes over and puts
   Perseverance down softly, then quickly jetting away. The robotic
   Perseverance rover will now begin exploring ancient Jezero Crater,
   including a search for signs that life once existed on Earth's
   neighboring planet.

                    Tomorrow's picture: old galaxy friend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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