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'7 minutes of terror': A look at the technology Perseverance needs to survive landing on Mars

By Chris James

This month has been a busy one for Mars exploration. Several countries sent missions to the red planet in June last year, taking advantage of a launch window.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of past microbial life.

Get ready for the Perseverance Mars rover landing with this epic NASA documentary

By Elizabeth Howell

It's "Mars madness" day for space fans NASA's Perseverance rover mission targets an epic landing today (Feb. 18). A NASA documentary takes a close look at the mission.

The sun sets below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars in this stunning view captured by NASA's Spirit rover on May 19, 2005.

NASA's Perseverance rover team will have to live on 'Mars time' after landing on the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell

The Perseverance team will return to a time-honored tradition at NASA these past few decades — the tradition of living on "Mars time."

Jezero Crater appears in this image from the European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter.

How to pronounce 'Jezero crater.' (Yes, you may be doing it wrong.)

By Doris Elin Urrutia

NASA's Mars Perseverance mission is days away from landing on Jezero Crater, a place thought to once have been an ancient lake.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing: Why do we keep going back to the Red Planet?

By Elizabeth Howell

With hundreds of worlds in the solar system to explore, it's fair to ask as NASA's Perseverance rover makes its final approach for landing Thursday (Feb. 18): Why do we keep going back to Mars?

The moon and Mars will appear in a conjunction on the night of Feb. 18, 2021.

Celebrate NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing by spotting the Red Planet near the moon tonight

By Doris Elin Urrutia

Mars may not be ready to escape the spotlight just yet, even after receiving its third Earthly mission this month.

Images of Jezero crater, where Perseverance will touch down on Mars.

Photo tour of Jezero Crater: Here's where Perseverance will land on Mars

By Jeanna Bryner

Here's a look at Mars' Jezero Crater, the gorgeous basin where the Perseverance rover is expected to touch down and look for signs of ancient microbial life.

A supersonic parachute will help slow Mars 2020's atmospheric descent to about 200 mph (320 km/h).

It's landing day on Mars! NASA's Perseverance rover will touch down on the Red Planet today

By Elizabeth Howell

It's landing day for Perseverance and all eyes are on the Red Planet.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, announces the official name of the Mars rover Perseverance, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, on March 5, 2020.

Countdown to Mars: How NASA involved kids in its Perseverance rover mission

By Samantha Mathewson

From its "Name the Rover" essay contest to the "Mission to Mars" student challenge, NASA has encouraged students to get involved in the Perseverance mission landing on the Red Planet today (Feb. 18).

An illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover landing on the Red Planet.

What time will NASA's Perseverance rover land on Mars today?

By Hanneke Weitering

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet today (Feb. 18) at 3:55 p.m. EST (2055 GMT) — or at least that's when NASA will find out if it landed.

An artist's impression of NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity. The "marscopter" will land with the rover Feb. 18 and soon make its first flight, the first powered flight on another world.

NASA is about to land a helicopter on Mars for the first time

By Chelsea Gohd

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity is set to land with the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet Feb. 18, as part of the agency's Mars 2020 mission.

This map of Mars shows the weather on the Red Planet ahead as of Feb. 15, 2021 ahead of NASA's Perseverance rover landing on Feb. 18.

It's a beautiful day on Mars for NASA's Perseverance rover landing

By Meghan Bartels

Clouds or dust storms on Mars won't spoil the Perseverance rover's big landing today (Feb. 18), NASA scientists said.

A view of Mars on Sept. 25, 2020, as seen from the Philippines.

How Mars became the prize for a new space race — and why China is hellbent on winning it

By Steffi Paladini

Looking at its achievements over the past decade, nobody would doubt China is aiming to win the new space race, this one aimed at Mars.

Valoria 2 crewmembers test communications equipment during a Marswalk.

When the 'Mars' mission commander breaks new ground — Commander's Report: sol 6

By Michaela Musilova

Valoria 2's mission commander has been stuck in a vicious loop of analog space missions at HI-SEAS until now. Repetition and endless patience were on the daily menu for her during each mission.

Moogega Cooper, planetary protection lead engineer for the Perseverance rover, sampled the spacecraft's surface for microbes in June 2019.

National Geographic's 'Built for Mars' will let you tag along with NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing

By Elizabeth Howell

A new National Geographic documentary will let you share in the excitement of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing on the Red Planet Thursday.

Illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. Perseverance, which sports two different microphones, will land on Feb. 18, 2021.

The sounds of Mars: NASA's Perseverance rover will put ears on the Red Planet for the 1st time

By Mike Wall

NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance is equipped with two microphones, which will allow humanity to hear the sounds of the Red Planet for the first time.

In a decades-long tradition, NASA scientists added five special objects to the Perseverance rover, which is slated to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

5 weird things NASA's Perseverance rover is bringing to Mars

By Kasandra Brabaw

When NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars on Feb. 18, it will be bringing five "extras," from a message to future explorers on Mars to a slice of Martian meteorite.

Iranian government footage shows the country's new Zoljanah's first suborbital test launch.

Iran launches new rocket on suborbital test flight: report

By Elizabeth Howell

Iran recently test-launched a new rocket, according to the country's state television on Monday (Feb. 8) and news reports.

An artist's depiction of ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter at work around Mars.

How a fleet of spacecraft will watch NASA's Perseverance rover land on Mars

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA's next Mars rover, Perseverance, will have a squad of spacecraft watching its dangerous descent from above Thursday (Feb. 18).

Engineers lowered MOXIE into the Mars Perseverance rover in March 2019.

Here's how the Perseverance landing could pave the way for humans on Mars

By Meghan Bartels

Tucked in the belly of NASA's Mars Perseverance rover is a golden box that, if all goes well, will turn some of the Red Planet's thin, carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere into sweet, sweet oxygen.