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.

                                2020 July 31

                          Mars 2020 from 5,000 Feet
                    Image Credit & Copyright: John Kraus

   Explanation: On Thursday this snapshot from a small plane 5,000 feet
   above Florida's Space Coast caught a rocket's trail rising into the
   blue morning sky. It was July's third launch of a mission from planet
   Earth bound for Mars. The Atlas V rocket left Cape Canaveral Air Force
   Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at 7:50am EDT carrying NASA's Mars
   2020 Perseverance Rover. The car-sized Perseverance is headed for a
   landing at Jezero Crater on the Red Planet in February 2021. On board
   the sophisticated rover is the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

                 Mars 2020 Launch: photos from planet Earth
                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.


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