Watching Perseverance’s landing on MarsBecause it will take eleven minutes for radio communications from Mars to reach Earth, no one on Earth will have any direct contact with the American rover Perseverance as comes in to land in Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18th. When NASA broadcasts the landing here on Earth it will already have happened.
Nonetheless, if you want see as soon as possible if the landing was successful, you can go to NASA public channel here at NASA or here at Youtube. I have also embedded the live stream telecast below the fold in this post.
The landing itself is set for about 3:55 pm (Eastern) on Thursday, February 18th. NASA’s coverage is scheduled to begin at 2:15 pm (Eastern). Expect almost everything you watch to be seeped in NASA propaganda, though of course their overview of the rover, its landing, and its landing site will be informative.
One important note: NASA has been selling the false notion that the primary goal of Perseverance is to search for life on Mars, and sadly much of the mainstream press has been repeating this notion blindly. It is simply not true. The rover’s primary goal, first, last, and always, is to gain more knowledge of the geology of Mars and its past history. If along the way the rover detects evidence of life, all for the better, but that is not what it will be focused on doing during its journey in Jezero Crater.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Because it will take eleven minutes for radio communications from Mars to reach Earth, no one on Earth will have any direct contact with the American rover Perseverance as comes in to land in Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18th. When NASA broadcasts the landing here on Earth it will already have happened.
Nonetheless, if you want see as soon as possible if the landing was successful, you can go to NASA public channel here at NASA or here at Youtube. I have also embedded the live stream telecast below the fold in this post.
The landing itself is set for about 3:55 pm (Eastern) on Thursday, February 18th. NASA’s coverage is scheduled to begin at 2:15 pm (Eastern). Expect almost everything you watch to be seeped in NASA propaganda, though of course their overview of the rover, its landing, and its landing site will be informative.
One important note: NASA has been selling the false notion that the primary goal of Perseverance is to search for life on Mars, and sadly much of the mainstream press has been repeating this notion blindly. It is simply not true. The rover’s primary goal, first, last, and always, is to gain more knowledge of the geology of Mars and its past history. If along the way the rover detects evidence of life, all for the better, but that is not what it will be focused on doing during its journey in Jezero Crater.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
NASA has been selling the false notion that the primary goal of Perseverance is to search for life on Mars, and sadly much of the mainstream press has been repeating this notion blindly. It is simply not true.
Alas, “the search for life” sells. Specifically, when you’re trying to get funding. “Geology,” alas, doesn’t seem to cut it.
Richard M: You are right, but just because NASA is doing a sales job does not require the press to help participate in the fraud. Journalists should do their job and report what is really happening, not help a government agency lobby for money.
Of course, the sad part is that most modern science reporters know so little about the subjects they report on that they are unable to see the difference. Worse, they don’t research the subject and find out. They simply rewrite press releases.
Would it increase mission results, if we were sending two rovers to work in tandem? Are there achievable ways for the rovers to have a power source other than their solar arrays? In terms of communicating would it help if the rover sent data to an orbiting satellite, which then relayed that data back to earth? Asking if this mission could have been more ambitious in what it is setting out to achieve.
Steve Richter: Both Curiosity and Perseverance do not depend on solar panels. They use a nuclear power source.
Also, all the rovers use the orbiters to relay their data, and have for decades.
Rover Curiosity: Landing sequence breakdown
(side-by-side animation + Descent Imager video)
SpaceRip 2012
https://youtu.be/ATrICg_26lM
4:05
Rover Curiosity
descent imagery + mission control audio
https://youtu.be/e1ebHThBdlY
3:26
(last one…)
Rover Curiosity
-smooth motion descent imagery interpolated to 30fps
[but with fake sound fxs]
https://youtu.be/Esj5juUzhpU
2:53
Watched the ‘Wayne’ links.
Holy Schmoly! That’s great stuff! I always enjoy listening to people with half-a-dozen letters after their name cheer like sports fans, as if their team scored the winning touchdown. And, it did. This is perhaps the most technical way to deliver something to Mars, and we can make it work. Reliably. USA, baby.
A lot of things happening on the pre- and post-parachute phase. IMO, the sound FX on the last video are OK. Not over the top, and how hard would it be to put microphones on the lander?
Great stuff.
@Blair K Ivey
Perseverance is carrying 2 microphones!! An enginering one, and a science one. The engineering mic will be turned on during the decent, so we will be able to hear the whole decent and landing. The science one is going to give us real sounds from Mars. ( These will be the first mics on mars.) Exciting times indeed!!
Lee–
a repeat from me, but check this out:
“Riding the Booster: Up and Down in 400 Seconds”
NASA 2012
https://youtu.be/527fb3-UZGo
8:31
“….launch to landing, a space shuttle’s solid rocket booster journey is captured, with sound mixed and enhanced by Skywalker Sound.”
(–> nice transition at max-q starts around the 1:10 mark)
@ wayne, Thanks for that! I’ve never seen that before, or was even aware such footage even existed! Absolutely stunning!
Lee–
( I like to think my special superpower, is providing high quality video links)
That NASA video is a composite of two separate launches, if you want a single launch, 4 views (with natural sound) see:
“STS-134, SRB Cameras & Sound”
(left & right + forward & aft views)
Tanks In Space 2014
https://youtu.be/cLl7oqdm_B8
–>35:54
Whoops— this just in; Rush is deceased
This title: “Watching Perseverance’s landing on Mars”.
Does that mean that the landing on Mars will be actually seen from the surface as it lands by one of the other rovers on the planet now? (Or watching it from the lander itself landing?)
Because that is what it sounds like and that would be something interesting to see IMO. I would think that that has never been recorded before and would be a first.
I will assume that is not so because this rover will be landing at a different location then the other rovers are located.
One important note: NASA has been selling the false notion that the primary goal of Perseverance is to search for life on Mars, and sadly much of the mainstream press has been repeating this notion blindly. It is simply not true.
The rover’s primary mission is to search for geologic evidence of past life on Mars. From a recent Space News article:
https://spacenews.com/scientists-look-ahead-to-the-search-for-past-martian-life-with-perseverance/
Between that, the helicopter, and the sample caching, it’s a pretty cool mission. Let’s all hope for its success.
If anybody had a sense of humor, They would have a fake video ready to roll showing some aliens approaching the spacecraft shortly after landing. Cute ones so as not to scare people. Maybe a family, they can poke and prod the lander and such. If I was king, that is what I would do. War of the Worlds 2021!
I’ve posted a very funny animation doing exactly what you suggest, but can’t find it now. It was done after Curiosity’s landing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Ie7i6vRUM
Col Beausabre: Thank you. That’s it!
The lander had touched down and is signallying