NASA to Reveal New Video, Images from Mars Perseverance Rover

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	February 22, 2021  MEDIA ADVISORY M21-026 NASA to Reveal New Video, Images from Mars Perseverance Rover rover_drop.jpg This high-resolution still image is part of a video taken by several cameras as NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. A camera aboard the descent stage captured this shot. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (the European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA will hold a virtual briefing at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) today to unveil the “How to Land on Mars” video, which will present first-of-its-kind footage the Perseverance rover captured as it touched down on the Red Planet Feb. 18. The agency also will show new images the rover took on the Martian surface. The briefing will be broadcast on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website and stream live on multiple agency social media platforms. Discussing the footage and the mission will be: Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Michael Watkins, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Matt Wallace, Perseverance deputy project manager, JPL Al Chen, Perseverance entry, descent, and landing lead, JPL Dave Gruel, Perseverance EDL camera lead, JPL Justin Maki, Perseverance imaging scientist and instrument operations team chief, JPL Jessica Samuels, Perseverance surface mission manager, JPL Ken Williford, Perseverance deputy project scientist, JPL The teleconference number used for media briefings in advance of and following Perseverance landing will be used again for the Monday briefing. To request the number, reporters must provide their name and affiliation by noon EST (9 a.m. PST) Feb. 22, to Rexana Vizza at rexana.v.vizza@xxxxxxxxxxxx. Media and the public also may ask questions on social media during the briefing using #CountdownToMars. Following Monday’s briefing, at 4 p.m., NASA will host a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” in the r/IAmA community with scientists, engineers, and mission experts who will answer questions from the public about the mission and new imagery. Read NASA’s tweet about it: https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1362900021386104838 To learn more about Perseverance, visit: https://nasa.gov/perseverance and https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ -end-
	Press Contacts Grey Hautaluoma / Alana Johnson Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501 grey.hautaluoma-1@xxxxxxxx / alana.r.johnson@xxxxxxxx  Jia-Rui Cook / Andrew Good Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-5011 jccook@xxxxxxxxxxxx / good@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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