The day after NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars and the intrepid explorer’s first 24 hours on the surface come these images downloaded from the rover and a spacecraft orbiting the planet showing tantalizing pictures of the harrowing Entry, Descent, and Landing.
The High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) caught this image of the Perseverance rover with its parachute deployed descending toward Jezero Crater. MRO was approximately 435 miles (700 kilometers) from Perseverance when this image was taken. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of ArizonaAnother exciting image taken from a camera aboard the descent stage captured the Perseverance rover hanging from the Sky Crane moments before landing. Once the wheels touched the ground the lines were cut and the descent stage flew away to crash land at a safe distance. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechOne of the rover’s Hazard Cameras (HazCams) caught this image with one of Perseverance’s six wheels in the foreground along with some rather interesting looking rocks on the ground nearby. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechThis is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (HazCams) on the underside of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The days ahead should prove interesting as Perseverance finishes the final checkouts of its systems post-landing and begins the science phase of the mission.
