NASA’s 7-minutes of terror on Mars

The NASA Mars rover is known as ‘Perseverance,’ is all set to enter the final phase of its seven-month stint in space by signaling its arrival on the Martian surface via a radio signal. But, the seven minutes it will take for the vehicle to land on the surface of the red planet are being termed as ‘seven minutes of terror.’

According to Al Chen, head of the project, the seven-minute period comprises the most challenging and risky phase of a whopping $2.7 billion mission.

“Success is never assured, and that’s especially true when we’re trying to land the biggest, heaviest, and most complicated rover we’ve ever built to the most dangerous site we’ve ever attempted to land at,” Chen notified during a briefing of the mission.

Perseverance, which is named fittingly for the mission it’s about to undertake, will enable the scientists to conclude on life’s presence in the alien world while also laying the groundwork for future missions to Mars. However, its success will depend on a series of events executed flawlessly, from the deployment of a massive parachute to a “sky crane” that will lower the rover to the surface via a tether.

“Perseverance has to do this all on her own,” Chen said.

The first bottleneck mission will face the 293-million-mile journey from Earth itself, followed by the rover’s successful delivery to the Jerozo crater, a massive area stretching miles on the Martian surface.

Source: Tribune