NASA’s Perseverance rover stuck the landing.
After hurtling 238 million miles through space, the sonic parachute successfully opened, slowing Perseverance’s descent, and then in an amazing scientific feat, the backshell separated and the sky crane maneuver carefully carried Perseverance to the ground attached to long nylon cables.
Thomas Zurbuchen, director of the NASA mission, said: ‘It was an exciting day to think we’re looking to bring samples of Mars back to Earth.’
‘We’re turning our rover into a robotic geologist and astrobiologist, collecting samples that we will be bringing back to Earth, that is what we’re looking forward to.’
Yay, science!
