NASA shares stunning images of Mars taken by Perseverance rover

Just one day after the rover’s landing, on Friday, February 19, at a celebratory press conference Nasa shared new images, including the first-ever coloured pictures directly from Mars as opposed to images touched up later. The Perseverance rover reached Mars after travelling through deep space for more than 200 days. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California announced the confirmation of the successful touchdown.

The rover’s touchdown was documented by  an ingenious system of booster rockets and a “sky crane”. According to the reports by The Guardian, the scientists said that it landed in a pool-table flat” crater in a prime location in order to search the traces of ancient life. Perseverance rover, which has an advanced onboard laboratory, will study the Martian surface in search of any form of life. The rover has landed near Jezero Crater, which apparently had its own river delta and was filled with water some 3.5 billion years ago. Let’s have a look at the images. 

Read: How Long Did It Take Perseverance Rover To Reach Mars' Jezero Crater?

(Image Credits: NASA)

(This 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. Image Credits: NASA)

(This high-resolution image shows one of the six wheels aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, which landed on Feb. 18, 2021. The image was taken by one of Perseverance’s color Hazard Cameras (Hazcams). Image Credits: NASA)

All that you need to know 

The rover will look for life around the 45 kilometres-wide crater. The mission aims to bring back samples to Earth for further analysis because of more sophisticated labs here. The probe was launched on July 30 during the crucial small window that opened for launch to Mars last year. 

A trip to Mars generally takes about seven months, which is slightly longer than astronauts stay on the International Space Station. However, the exact duration of every journey is dependent on the position of the planets and also when the journey was started. The distance between Earth and Mars constantly changes as they travel around the sun and the time it takes to travel may vary from about six to eight months.

Read: 'I'm Safe On Mars': NASA's Perseverance Lands On Red Planet After '7 Minutes Of Terror'

The Perseverance robotic explorer has also carried a small helicopter to the Red Planet which has been called the 'Ingenuity'. It is a small drone that the agency will use to attempt the first flight on another planet. The rover also carried a range of scientific tools and equipment to Mars which will help offer advanced capabilities for the mission.

Read: NASA's Mars Rover Perseverance Faces 'terror' Before Landing On The Surface

Also Read: Why Is Mars Rover Named Perseverance? Where Did Perseverance Get Its Name From?

(Image Credits: NASA)