NASA is all set to send its Perseverance Rover to Mars in a historic launch -- an all new Mars Exploration Program rover for humanity to explore the Red Planet.?
Having had its launch date pushed multiple times now, the NASA Mars Perseverance Rover mission has cleared a major hurdle in its flight, now scheduled for July 30.
As per a recent update by NASA, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission has passed its flight readiness review (FRR) on Wednesday. This means that the mission is well set on its timeline to take off on July 30 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The FRR was supposed to be a review of ¡°the Mars 2020 team and launch vehicle provider United Launch Alliance to report on the readiness of the spacecraft, along with the Atlas V rocket, flight and ground hardware, software, personnel and procedures," the update by officials mentioned.
Fortunately enough, everything was found to be exactly in order with the review.
Before NASA Perseverance Rover takes off for Mars, there is one final milestone to be completed by it here on Earth. The flight system is yet to undergo its launch readiness review, scheduled for July 27.
"At present, everything is green across the board," Matt Wallace, Mars 2020 deputy project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in the update. "Everyone involved with this endeavour, from the spacecraft team to the launch vehicle team to those working the range, are looking forward to seeing Perseverance begin its long-awaited flight to Mars."
As and when the system passes the next review in line, NASA¡¯s Perseverance rover will be set to take its final place on the Martian lands.
It is, however, crucial that NASA does not delay the launch date too further than the presently scheduled date. The window for the flight currently extends from July 30 to August 15.
No matter when the rocket takes off within this window, it will reach the surface of Mars on February 18, thanks to the close positions of Earth and Mars in their trajectories around the sun.
In case this window is missed, the next chance at reaching Mars¡¯ surface will be after 2 years, adding another USD 500 million expense to the nearly USD 3 billion mission.